The Hope of The Future
by MuggleDumbledore
Summary: Harry's life from his fourth year onward as he faces new challenges and fight his way through to his destiny. Story is tangent to canon except pairings. Story will encompass Harry's fourth to seventh year. No intentional bashing. T initially,may be M for later chapters.
1. B1: Chapter 1 - Prized Possession

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: It is my first fanfic so I hope that I did justice to the characters and the story as a whole. There might be some mistakes as English is not my first language and I do not have a beta as of yet. The story begins during the break before GoF. Although I have tried to keep the story close to the canon but there are a lot of minor and a few major changes. I hope you like it.

Please Review.

 **Chapter One: Prized Possession**

'How could he escape from the top of the Astronomy Tower?'. The thought baffled her. He was in a locked cell on top of a thirteen-storied tower, wandless and yet he escaped. It was a slap on the face of the department and she took it personally. She had already argued with the Minister and expressed her disappointment in his decision to not inform her while going to arrest Black. Minister had tried to defend himself with the feeble excuse that he did what came to his mind first.

" _Why didn't you inform me?" She said while barging in his office, her hair loose, her face showed that she was furious._

" _Calm down, Amelia. We will catch him very soon." Fudge answered but there was no confidence in his voice. "I went because it was the best option available."_

" _Cornelius, you as well as I do know that it was not a good idea to go without an auror team and you should have at least informed me." Amelia replied, her anger wasn't easily quenched._

" _Amelia, I do not need to inform you or anyone. I am the Minister of Magic." Fudge answered her, his features steeling._

" _And nobody is questioning that and pardon me but it wasn't an intelligent judgement on your part." Amelia told him bluntly before taking the chair across from him._

" _You need to intensify the search operation." Fudge moved his eyes away from her to the shelf in his room._

" _That is not possible, Minister, I have told you this, time and again and with the event approaching, I have none to spare." Amelia replied truthfully. "And you need to get the dementors back to Azkaban, I do not appreciate your action of sending half of them to Hogwarts."_

" _It was necessary, Amelia and I would not have you judge my decisions." Fudge barked, getting red in face._

" _It is my duty to inform you, Minister when you step in dangerous territories, literally and politically." Amelia did not hesitate in answering him, she leaned forward in her chair. "You should have discussed this security issue with me at the least. How do you think the people will react to something like this? A hundred dementors on Hogwarts grounds sets a very wrong precedence."_

" _I will handle the situation when it arises and I will ask for your advice when I need one." Fudge said and Amelia understood that it was a dismissal. She rose from her chair and walked out of the room with brisk paced strides._

It was impossible to escape from Azkaban and it took them a year and some suspicious activity that Minister was hesitant to tell her, to get Sirius locked up in a cell and now he was again out of their reach. She did not like the situation one bit, her department was underfunded, understaffed and overstressed. She had tried her best to get additional funds for recruitment and training and yet here she was, organising the security for the biggest event of wizarding world, the Quidditch World Cup 1994. She was informed that it was peacetime and the cuts made in the budget of her department was one of the main reasons why Ministry was able to organise the Mega-event. The event was in group stages but there was enough crowd, it looked like that people from every country where wizarding population existed had decided to visit England.

The law and Order situation was even more delicate now as the guests/tourists were bound to travel the country and the magical sites. It was difficult to have her people patrolling everywhere, she had to redirect other divisions of her department in this. There have been enough drunken brawls and fights between supporters of rival teams for her liking. She was having a hard time in maintaining the law and order, a mass-murderer on loose did not help the situation. She was anticipating an attack on the World Cup, with foreign wizarding dignitaries and diplomats present, the attack was a possibility.

She had requested the Minister to communicate with the French and American wizarding ministries regarding their assistance in the Security of the event. The Minister had rejected her request, he did not want to look weak on international level. She had to explain that he would face even more embarrassment if the attack actually took place, he would face a severe backlash if any foreign diplomat died in such attack.

Fudge did not relent and the only option left to her was to raise the issue in the Wizengamot. She had raised the issue but many were oblivious or indifferent, a few of them had the same line of thought as the esteemed Minister himself. Dumbledore had agreed with her and he had assured her that he would discuss the matter with Fudge. It was an added bonus that he was the British representative to International Confederation of Warlocks. He had assured her that if they could not get any additional help from the ministry, he would try to get some help from the neighbouring friendly ministries. Dumbledore had spoken to Fudge but even he was unable to get the request passed, although he was able to get her some funding for short-term solution of hiring Hit-Wizards, Ex-Aurors and retired aurors.

The first person she was going to hire, if the person agreed to, was an ex-auror, her mentor during auror training. She would personally meet him the upcoming Sunday evening, she was positive that he would not refuse. He would be able to get a team together for her and manage the patrolling of a few important locations.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He was sitting in his office, the one he had achieved after a lot of hardwork and with the help of so many people that he can't even remember their faces. It wasn't out of normal anyway, in his line of work he was going to come across many people and not all of them were going to be remembered.

But...

But one face which he remembered even in his sleep, it wasn't as if he wanted to remember, quite opposite actually, he wanted to forget the face, the person it belonged to and the event it was associated with. If he told anyone about that person, he was certain that nobody was going to believe him one bit. Rather, he would be ousted from this very office, his sanity would be questioned and his image would be ruined beyond any repair.

He looked up from his desk, towards the fireplace on the opposite wall, above the fireplace was hanging a painting of a gentleman with the attire of a medieval scholar, except the hat. The headgear wasn't the traditional one, in place of it was a pointy hat, quite similar to a wizard's hat.

He could remember the night as clearly as yesterday, the weirdest night in his life or so he thought. He came to know about a world he knew nothing about, not even its existence. He was thrown into a state of shock and then fear and then worry, there were other emotions too in the whirlwind of thoughts.

A pudgy man with the name Fudge stepped out from the green flames in the fireplace, in a pinstriped suit and bowler hat, into his office. He had fainted when the man offered him his hand. The next hour, he was being explained about the wizarding world, it was astonishing and yet quite worrisome for him. He was promised that he won't see the Fudge guy again but he had become a recurring phenomena.

Last summer, he was told that a mass murderer was on run, he had escaped from the highest security prison section of the 'best wizarding prison'. Around eight months later, he was informed that they were conducting their magical world cup of a weirdly name sport and that a large number of wizarding population was going to visit britain.

That wasn't it, now they are bringing beasts into the country. They are bringing dragons in the country and it wasn't all, they were bringing other beasts which he was too shocked to remember their names.

He had started to hate being the Prime Minister of Britain.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

How difficult would it be to land a Hippogriff in the middle of a London suburb? The answer will be not very difficult but doing that without breaking the statute of secrecy was next to impossible. Doing that without a wand would increase the difficulty level significantly. He had forgotten how many days it had been since he had escaped from the Astronomy Tower, thanks to Harry, Hermione and Buckbeak. He had dementors on his tail and he needed to get away from them as soon as possible. He had flown to Ireland then to England via Wales but to cut the trail, he flew to France then to Norway where he stayed for more than a week.

It took him two weeks to get back to England and he was thankful that that was somehow enough. Dementors weren't following him anymore. He had decided to come to the only place where nobody can track him, his ancestral home. He needed a safe hiding place and begrudgingly Sirius would agree that nowhere else would be safe enough. It was well past midnight and it was a good thing that there was no moon in the sky tonight. Everything was as dark as a dementor's hood. He entered the house he detested the most, bringing the winged-creature behind him.

"Who is there?" A shaky and raspy voice spoke from the darkness of the house. Sirius had received the news while he was in prison that he was the only living Black, his mother was the last to die. He wasn't expecting anyone to be there, it took a moment for him to remember the only being that could be here after all these year.

"Kreacher?" Sirius half asked and half realized. The realization was completed when the old elf stepped forward and the candles in the corridor came to life.

"It's him, Mistress!" The elf shouted, his tennis ball sized eyes widening in shock.

"What are you doing here? You are disowned." The source of his mother's voice was the portrait of her hanging in front of his eyes. He did not want to talk to her so he gave one command to his elf before walkingup the stairs. "Shut her up, Kreacher and stay out of my sight."

He understood that as he was the last Black, Kreacher was now linked to him. He did not want anything to do with him but he had more pressing matters on his mind. He entered his father's study, it looked well maintained. His father had told him when Sirius was only fourteen that Blacks always had an emergency kit, it was the bottom drawer of his father's desk. There was a leather suitcase inside with few wands, a pouch of galleons, some vials of essential potions and a couple of daggers. All Sirius needed was a wand, so he checked the available six and picked the one which worked the best for him, he picked up the pouch of galleons and left the suitcase where it belonged. He picked up a parchment and searched for inkpot and a quill, he needed to get a message to Remus, he hurriedly wrote a small note that would convey the message. He charmed the letter the way they had been doing since school days, 'I solemnly swear that I am upto no good'.

"Kreacher! Take this letter to Remus Lupin and hand it over only when he is alone." The letter that he had placed on the table disappeared a moment later. He knew that Kreacher knew how to do his duties without coming into view.

While writing the letter, he had forgotten that he had a guest here with him who was standing outside the room, it was a good thing that Hippogriffs were intelligent creatures. He thought for a minute before a devilish smile came to his face, the idea that crossed his mind would be a cruel joke on his family and especially on his mother. He walked the creature to his mother's bedroom and guided Buckbeak to the bed, he was enjoying it too much. Who would have thought that a feathery magical creature would sleep in the bed of proud Walburga Black.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He was walking down a street with brick houses lining both the sides, the street had seen better days. The houses were old and in different stages of decay, the neighbourhood wasn't very habitable. Dumbledore understood the reason why this would attract the ex-auror, he had become a recluse for god knows how long, but he had completely distanced himself from the society after his expulsion from the ministry after Barty stepped down from the Directorship of the department. It was a big issue in Wizengamot, Alastor's actions and in association with Crouch's actions, were questioned by a many traditionalists, his excess use of force wasn't very well accepted. He was expelled from the department and the Director of DMLE had to step down, it really was a mess. He had worked as the trainer in the Auror Academy, he wasn't fond of being in a trainer's position but his experience was a huge asset in mentoring and grooming the future aurors.

He had walked no less than a hundred yards when he turned left to enter a house. The main gate was charm-locked but Dumbledore knew the password for entrance, he had known the man for quite some time. The house wasn't very big, it was more like a big cabin. The house was in the centre of the plot, all four sides had a fifteen feet distance from the main building. Dumbledore was sure that the ground must have a dozen different charms, wards and curses present, he wouldn't expect anything less than that from this person. Albus remembered the motto of his life, 'Constant Vigilance'.

Dumbledore knocked on the door which opened on its own accord. Dumbledore walked into the small living room and by the look of it he could very well say that housekeeping wasn't one of Alastor's specialities. "Good evening, my friend."

"Evening, Albus. You don't need to knock, I could see you coming." Alastor replied from the chair in front of the fireplace. The fire in the fireplace was the only source of light in the square room. Dumbledore took the other chair and faced the fire, he need not look at his old friend, he was certain that the electric blue eye was fixed on him. "I have something for you."

"I hope it's not a Berty Bott's, you know I hate 'em." Alastor said with a snort, a light chuckle was the response from Dumbledore.

"This one would be more to your taste." Dumbledore replied before leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes for a moment. "I have a proposition."

"I'm all ears or whatever is remaining of those." He answered with another snort, he enjoyed his own jokes too much.

"I want you at Hogwarts." Dumbledore had opened his eyes and now he was leaning forward, his elbows on the armrest and his chin resting on the steeple of his long fingers.

"You should have asked this before Black entered Hogwarts but I guess Black could bring anyone to their senses." Alastor commented, he was now quite intrigued by the conversation and hence turned to look at Dumbledore with both his eyes. Dumbledore remained in the same position when he continued. "It's not just about security, Alastor, you will be the Defence professor."

"You are getting very old, Albus, you are losing your mind." Moody's natural eye was wide in amusement. "You will face too much opposition for this decision but you must have already taken that into consideration. So, please do tell why you are asking me."

"I need a trained eye in school, Alastor." Dumbledore chuckled at his own joke. "Moreover, students need someone experienced and I am running out of option."

Moody was laughing wholeheartedly at the helplessness of Dumbledore, although his laugh wasn't a very pleasant sight. "What about the academy?"

"Board is hiring someone more lenient, for long term. They might call you for a couple of sessions in a year." Dumbledore answered while turning to look at the ex-Auror. "Shall we drink to it then?"

"By all means."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

July 30, 1994

It was mostly an uneventful summer by his standards, and he was thankful for that. After his actions last summer and him mentioning about his godfather being the mass murderer on news made sure that he wasn't much disturbed this summer. But he still had to do the chores, there was no respite from them.

Harry Potter was sitting on his bed in his room at #4 Privet Drive, holding the letter sent by his Ex-DADA professor, Remus Lupin. He was hoping against hope that the letter may be an invitation to spend the summer with him or some information regarding his godfather. He hadn't contacted Lupin since he resigned from his post a couple of months back and left Hogwarts. He finally gathered his courage to open the envelope addressed to him from Moony. He extracted the letter and opened it to read.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit. I ask for your forgiveness for my silence since that Halloween night. I should have at least written to you after you started Hogwarts. My spirit was broken that night when Dumbledore told me the news about your parents. Two of my closest friends moved on to the next great adventure that night. The only emotion my heart had was grief. I believed like everyone else that Padfoot had betrayed your parents. Once I came to my senses, I went to find him, to confront him but I came to know about what happened between Padfoot and Wormtail. In less than a day, my whole life turned on its head. I had lost all my friends, three to death and one to betrayal. That day, I came to know what true despair meant. I lost my will to live a life, now it was just a sorry existence. After Padfoot's escape from Azkaban, professor Dumbledore came to me and offered the job at Hogwarts with the hope that if Padfoot succeeded in bypassing the barriers, I would be the right person to protect you. It was my chance of redemption and revenge. The whole year I wanted to talk to you about your parents, tell you stories from our school years, introduce you to the Marauders' way, to know you better but there was always this voice in my head screaming that I was inadequate for this. It was the despair, survivor's guilt that stopped me from introducing you to your 'Unca Moony'. Every time when you came to my office, every time I was teaching you the Patronus charm, I was reminded about my loss all those years back. You reminded me of James and Lily, you are the best of both of them, I wanted to know you better, talk about your life but every time I could not gather the courage to take the first step. I am sorry, I know its late but I still hope that you would be able to forgive me for my inaction._

 _I have rambled long enough and made you sad by reminding you all those memories. So, let's move on to some happier topics. Happy Birthday Harry, I have missed your last twelve birthdays and hence I am sending you my most prized possession as the birthday gift for all the birthdays I missed. The envelope has a photo, it was taken the day you and Lily were brought home from St. Mungo's for the first time. It is the only picture I have with your parents, Sirius and you. I hope you will like it._

 _Yours,_

 _Moony_

Harry was still holding the letter, misty eyed. He dropped the letter on the bed beside him and extracted the picture that Moony mentioned from the envelope. One glance at the photo and Harry could not hold his tears back any longer. His parents were sitting on a two-seater couch, he was in his mother's arms between both his parents, sleeping peacefully. James's arm was around Lily's shoulder, leaning her into him, their heads merely an inch apart. Sirius and Remus were sitting on the armrests on either side of couple, their arms thrown at the back of the couch. The expression on their faces was of pure joy, he could see love and contentment in the eyes of his parents, Sirius eyes showcasing his excitement, same as Moony's.

He sat there for minutes, just staring at the picture in his hands, admiring the love and happiness he never knew. His tears now dried, leaving its trail on his cheeks. He opened his photo album and pasted this photo just behind the photo of his parents with him. He hurriedly grabbed a parchment, quill and ink and started writing a letter in response to Lupin's birthday gift. He was happy to the core that he finally had something to remember Sirius and Lupin by.

He sent the reply with Hedwig, thanking and forgiving him. He wanted to ask about more stories of their youth, he wanted to know whether Padfoot has contacted him or not. He set in front of his desk, facing the window and watching Hedwig fly away to deliver the letter. He drifted to sleep in his chair while watching Hedwig disappear in the distance.

-X-X-

The midnight moon bathing the landscape in its silver glow. The manor on the hilltop looked quite eerie in the moonlight. The manor was an eighteenth-century country house overlooking a small village at the foot of the hill. The three-story affair with an attic was without an occupant for 52 years, since the death of the family that lived there. The death of the Riddle family was a mysterious affair, the whole family of three, an old couple and their son in mid-thirties, died on the same day. Their bodies were found in the living room of the manor by the house-keeper, the living room was locked from the inside and no signs of bodily harm on any of the bodies. The police department was befuddled by these mysterious deaths, the first suspect was the house-keeper but nothing could have been pinned on him in the absence of proofs.

The manor was taken cared by the house-keeper who lived in a small cottage-house at the side of the hill. The house-keeper was a single man in his late sixties, whose family were the house-keepers of the Riddle household for four generations. Old age and sleep does not get along very well and hence the house-keeper was in his kitchen, making tea to sooth his senses. His anger started to rise when he saw light flicker through the first-floor window of the manor. He was going to pay a visit to these unruly boys for trespassing in the manor and they are not going to like it. He turned off the stove, picked up his coat, walking stick and keys to the manor and started on the path to the manor.

The house looked quite gloomy and a bit frightening in the moonlight but he wasn't afraid of his surroundings. He walked up to the backdoor of the house, unlocked it, entered quietly and gently closed the door behind him. He could not pick up any sounds from his position, as he moved closer to the stairs leading to the first-floor he heard voices coming from overhead. He could not distinguish the words. He slowly started climbing the stairs, after a few steps he stopped dead in his track when he heard a very sharp voice which resembled a hiss. It was the first time that night when he was afraid to go ahead. He slowly started moving up the stairs, trying his best to make no sound. He reached the landing and then he heard it a slow voice, firm but barely more than a hiss but the words were clear.

" _Bring me the boy, my faithful servant."_

The next voice he heard was trembling with fear.

" _But master...?"_

" _Shut up, Wormtail. The boy is the key, without him it's impossible."_

A plan for kidnapping a boy was taking shape in the house. He wanted to confront them and stop this crime from taking place. He stepped ahead in the corridor to get a clear look. The fireplace was alight, a highbacked, stuffed leather chair stood in the middle of the room facing the fire. A short, fat man with balding head of greying hair stood on the left of the chair in a subservient manner. He wanted to shout and beat these criminals but his breath caught in his throat, a giant snake slithered past his legs, brushing his ankles as it went past the man. The snake was larger than any he had seen in his life with a girth which was obviously greater than his upper arm.

A third voice answered in a firm and even way. " _I will bring him to you master_ ".

The speaker of this voice was on his knee on the other side of the chair. He could clearly see the face, the man was young, in his early-thirties, with brown slid back hair. The expression of devotion clear on his face, but something in his eyes was unnerving.

He heard a hiss coming from the room now, the snake's head on the arm rest of the chair. When he heard the next words, he froze in his place unable to move any muscle in his body due to fear.

" _Nagini brings good news, Wormtail. We have a muggle guest standing outside this room._ "

Both faces turned in his direction, the man Kneeling on the side of the chair rose from his position and stepped to the side of the door with a wicked smile on his face. The man in the chair spoke again, his voice like icy-daggers.

" _Turn the chair, Wormtail, so that I can properly welcome our guest._ "

All the colour in the man's face went missing as the chair was turned to face him. The word doesn't not even begin to define the level of fear he was facing. In the chair sat a creature, looking like a very frail, old man but having quite a resemblance to a small kid cradled in a chair. His skin pale and hairless, his pupils red and looking like slits, nose absent and its place were to slits. His appearance eerily similar to a snake. He was pointing a stick in his direction and two words came out of his mouth, " _Avada kedavra_ ". The last thing he saw was a jet of green light coming his way and he dropped dead.

" _Dinner time, Nagini_ ". The snake moved towards the body lying on the floor, a few feet away from the door.

Harry woke up with searing pain in his head, his scar burning like a coal. He was trembling and sweating on the floor, his chair lying on the floor behind him. He must have slept in the chair and fallen from it during this fear inducing experience, he thought. He was shaken to the core, the nightmare looked so real. He was shaking his head to get these images out of it to no avail. He stood up and picked the chair and positioned in front of his desk. It should be early morning if the purple sky with a tinge of orange across the horizon was any hint.

He dropped all plans of going back to sleep, he was afraid and excited at the same time. Afraid due to the experience he just had and excited because it was his birthday. It was not that his birthday was a cause of big celebration in this household but because he was going to meet his friends and move to his home to spent rest of his summer there. He received a letter last week through the muggle way. The envelope hidden behind post-stamps, enough in number to cover the whole envelope except a small area where the address was written. The postman was laughing when he hand-delivered the letter. One of his best friend, Ron was coming to his home with his father to take Harry with them to the 'Burrow'.

His so-called family was happy enough from the fact that the _freak_ of a nephew will be leaving for a year. Harry had packed almost all his belongings in his trunk last evening itself. A few things were lying here and there in his room and cupboard. He checked his watch, it was 6 AM, he still had seven hours to get ready. Ron and his father were going to arrive at 1:00 PM through _Floo_. But now was time to prepare breakfast for his _beloved_ family. He moved out of the room the bathroom to get ready so he could star his last day of the year in this dreadful place he called home.

-X-X-


	2. B1: Chapter 2 - To The Burrow

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: One thing that always bugged me was Harry's clothes. Every book mentioned the baggy oversized clothes but nobody seems to care that they could be magically altered to fit Harry (not even Molly Weasley or Hermione) even when he stayed with the Weasleys either at the Burrow or the headquarters. I hope you like it. Please Review.

Chapter One: To The Burrow

July 31, 1994

It is hard to behave normally around the people you despise so much that the mere thought of their existence was enough to make you feel nauseated but Harry had years of practise doing exactly that. Since he came down to the spotlessly clean kitchen of her aunt to begin his daily chores one last time before returning next summer, he was trying his best to not give any reason to his whale of an uncle to refuse his request of leaving with his friend. At last, the hour of his departure was approaching and a small smile appeared on his face, not big enough for any of his relatives to notice.

Finally, at ten minutes to one his uncle came to living room in his best muggle suit and sat on the couch, his expressions clearly showing the displeasure he was feeling from the thought and anticipation of these _freaks_ coming to his abode of normalcy. Harry was expecting an angry eruption from Mt. Vernon any minute now. A few moments later, his uncle finally spoke.

"When are you freaky friends are coming?", his voice carrying a hint of disgust.

"At 1:00 PM, uncle Vernon." Harry said while trying to keep his face blank and his voice emotionless.

"And how they will be coming to my house, your folks wouldn't own a car or know about it?"

"They will be arriving by the _floo._ " Harry blurted out.

"What?" The expression of confusion clearly pasted on his face.

"They will be arriving by the fireplace."

Vernon's pig-eyes widened for a moment before a devilish grin appeared. He was Thinking and playing a scenario in his head where he was berating these weird people coming to his house. He wanted to give them a piece of his mind that they would remember till the day they could remember their own names.

Just before the arrival of Weasleys, his aunt and cousin came down to the living room and sat on either side of his uncle. Just as the minute hand on the wall clock was reaching the designated time, the fireplace erupted in green flames for a few seconds and A tall redhaired man with horn-rimmed glasses stepped out of the fireplace, he recognized Mr. Weasley on the first look itself. He was followed by Ron then the twins. Mr. Weasley stepped closer to Harry, dusting the soot from his robes and offered his hand with his warm greetings wishing him for his birthday. Harry blurted his thanks and shook hands a bit too enthusiastically. It was immediately followed by three one armed hugs and three shouts of 'happy birthday, Harry'. Mr. Weasley turned towards the Dursleys, he offered his hand to Vernon with a cheery smile and greetings of good day. In reaction to this gesture, Dursleys leaned back in the couch trying to distance themselves from this weirdo with expressions of utter disgust evident on their faces. Arthur got the clue and took a step back, turned to face the teenagers who were looking towards the hosts with a look of unhidden disapproval.

"Harry, bring your Trunk and Hedwig. The _floo_ -connection is a temporary one and will close in 15 minutes." Mr. Weasley said, looking towards his watch.

"My trunk is upstairs in my room, I sent Hedwig earlier."

"We will get it." The twins chimed in unison and stepped towards the stairs leading to Harry's bedroom.

A few seconds passed in uneventful and uncomfortable silence where Mr. Weasley was eyeing every electronic item with excited wide-eyes. The twins came down from his room, holding his trunk between them while Fred (or was it George) was holding his _firebolt_ in his other hand. As they entered the living room, the second twin dropped a small string-pouch on the floor but before he could say anything regarding it, they pushed him and Ron aside and were gone through the _floo_ with a call to 'the Burrow'. Mr. Weasley blurted his goodbyes to the Dursleys and pushed Harry and Ron towards the fireplace.

The next few moments were a total blur for Harry. He stepped in the fireplace and was engulfed in the green flames of the _floo_ and was falling on his behind the next moment on a wooden floor, the next moment he was lifted from his position on ground and was involved in a bone-crushing hug. Once he was recovered from the hug, his brain started to process his surroundings and the happenings of last few seconds.

He was standing in the leaving room of Burrow facing the Weasley matriarch, a step behind her was Ginny. He waved towards her and voice the words 'hi Ginny'. In response, she replied with a 'hello Harry' in squeaky girly voice and averted her eyes towards the other occupants in the room.

Harry turned towards the twins with a questioning look and asked, "what was in that pouch?".

They shrugged and started to walk towards the stairs. As they stepped on the first stair, they turned towards him with a menacing grin.

"Let's just say..."

"that he will understand that..."

"it's wrong taking something…."

"belonging to someone else…."

"without their permission".

They left the room with those words. They shouted from the top of the stairs "Nothing permanent". Everyone turned back towards Harry again.

"Harry, you can keep your trunk in Ron's room. You and Ron will be sharing the room this summer." Mrs. Weasley said.

"But mum, can't we sleep in Percy's room. My room is too small and Percy hasn't been home all summer." Ron responded with a begging look.

Mrs. Weasley was unperturbed, Harry got the feeling that this was not the first time this conversation took place. Before Mrs. Weasley could reprimand Ron, Harry said "It's fine Mrs. Weasley, I will just bring my trunk in his room". He picked up his trunk and started moving towards the staircase leading to the floors above without looking back. He did not want to be a bother to Weasleys. Before he could step on the stairs, Mrs. Weasley called him from behind.

"Harry, where is Hedwig?"

"She is away Mrs. Weasley, delivering a mail."

"Okay. Go freshen up and come to the kitchen soon, you look quite thin, you could do with some food."

The day went pretty well thereafter, he was enjoying Mrs. Weasley's hospitality and culinary skills. Harry knew his way around kitchen but Mrs. Weasley's cooking was many levels above his, he wanted to be as good as her. It felt good to finally have a meal after a month which he hasn't prepared by himself. In all this excitement and happiness, he totally forgot about the letter he had sent the day before yesterday.

-X-X-

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her office, preparing the annual budget for the school which was her job as the Deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. To be frank, she knew more about running the school then the glorious headmaster, who was busy all the time due to the various positions he held and roles he played in important institutions of magical Britain and the ICW. Hence the responsibility of overseeing day-to-day works of the school fell on her capable shoulders.

She was a bit surprised when she saw the beautiful snowy-owl with amber eyes flew in her office through the window and landed on her desk. Everyone in the school knew to whom this owl belonged. She removed the letter from the owl's leg, gave her an owl-treat and started to open the letter. She was surprised that Harry would contact her during the break, she knew Harry was an above-average student but he can't be categorized as exceptional. She was certain that he wouldn't be asking for advice or suggestions for extra reading material. A thought popped in her mind that Harry might want to resign from Quidditch due to his constant injury woes but she pushed this thought out as she remembered that the kid loved flying. She quickly opened the letter.

 _Dear Professor McGonagall,_

 _I hope my letter is not an interruption in your busy schedule. I wanted to know if it possible to change an elective subject this year. In case it is possible, I want to swap Divination with Ancient Runes. What are the requirements for swapping the subjects and can you give make some suggestions?_

 _Thank you,_

 _Sincerely_

 _Harry Potter_

It was a happy feeling that finally the kid followed Miss Granger's path and started to become a bit more serious about his education. She retrieved a blank piece of parchment from her desk drawer and wrote a response, tied the letter to the leg of Harry's familiar and gave her a pat on her head. The bird took off from its position on the desk and flew out of the window, leaving the transfiguration professor to her musings.

-X-X-

Harry was in a dilemma, how to approach Ron and explain the situation. Hedwig returned two days ago, with a positive response from the deputy headmistress. Since then Harry has been trying to organized his words so that Ron does not react very badly. He would have not mentioned it until the beginning of the school term if it was not for the exam he had to prepare for. According to McGonagall, he has to get a passing grade in the exam which will be taking place, coincidently, on Hermiones's birthday. He had to study a year's worth of material in less than 45 days with 2 days being already reserved for Quidditch World Cup Final. He can't lose another day if he wanted to have any realistic chance of passing the test. He had already rent a letter to Hermione, explaining the situation and asking for her advice and her Ancient Runes notes from her last year. Hedwig hadn't returned but he won't be wasting any moment once Hedwig returns. He was determined to get away from the harbinger of his doom who predicted his bad fortune in each class, he knew in his heart that he can' take these continuous 'daily death predictions' anymore.

He gathered his courage to finally tell Ron that he would be leaving him alone in Divination. Ron was sitting on the other side of the chess-board. Harry had totally forgot about the game of chess he was playing against Ron, no harm done as he was already close to defeat. He wanted the game to get over first so that Ron will be in high spirits and hence better chance of him taking this without much argument. God, Harry was so wrong (In Hindsight).

"Hey, Ron?"

"Yeah Mate?"

"I wanted to tell something about the next term."

"Hmm, better be something other than studies, we have Hermione for that." He snickered on his own comment before looking at Harry's face and sobering.

"I'm changing my elective to Ancient runes this term."

"You can't do that." Ron reacted, a bit too loud then what was necessary. After a moment's pause he continued, "why would you do that?".

"Ron, I'm fed up from my death being predicted daily in her class. I at least some rest from my doom being announced by the professor in front of students from our year".

"But I would be alone, what about that?", he whined.

"I'm sorry Ron but my mind is made up."

"Yeah, way to go mate. You are becoming like Hermione, she is a bad influence for you." Ron stood up and walked out of the room with that remark.

" _Could have been worse_ " Harry mused to himself and he left the room to find the twins who most surprisingly had taken the subject for their O.W.L. & N.E.W.T.s and were good at it to some extent, not like their older brother Bill who was a prodigy according to Mr. Weasley.

-X-X-

Harry returned from a 3v3 Quidditch match with the twins, Ron, Ginny and Twins' friend Lee Jordan. It had been three days since the day he and Ron had their little argument. Ron was trying to avoid him since then, as much as he could avoid to a person who was sharing a room with him. Harry knew that this time Ron has to come to term with the situation on his own as his reaction and behaviour was completely uncalled for this time.

Hedwig had finally arrived last night with a big parcel. The parcel contained Hermione's copy of the standard textbook for introductory course on ancient runes, her study notes and a letter on top of this both. Harry was excited when he received the parcel and opened the later, eager to know what's been going on with his other best friend.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _How are you? How was your summer till now? It's good to know that you are showing interest towards proper learning and want to get away from that old fraud. I am sending you my book and notes so you can start studying. I was in Italy for the past month, I just arrived yesterday morning, it was a pleasant surprise to see Hedwig waiting for me. I will tell you about my holidays when I see you. I will come to Burrow on August 22 and to help you with your study I will stay for the rest of the summer. I will tutor you during school term too till the day of exam. I would have come earlier but I wanted to spend some time with my parents before I leave for Burrow, they haven't seen much of me since we started Hogwarts. My parents and I will be staying with my grandparents at their farm for the next two weeks so I would appreciate you won't send any more letters through Hedwig. See you soon, Harry._

 _Yours Truly,_

 _Hermione_

 _PS: Start Studying right away and please see if Ron also wants to make the switch from that stupid subject named Divination._

Harry was unsure about asking Ron to make the switch, may it was the one thing needed to end the strain in their friendship. Harry was not particularly enthusiastic about it though, he knew Ron would want to slack-off but the subject required patient and hard-work. He can at least try asking Ron before Hermione's arrival.

Harry was determined about passing the test and hence started reading the book that night. After the first few pages of the book, Harry came to know that he underestimated the complexity of subject so he opened the notes that accompanied the book. On the first page of the notebook was a timetable with a small note at the bottom, 'I drew this timetable so you can study as well as enjoy your time at Burrow'. He would have to thank Hermione when she gets here, he noted.

For the next few days, Harry was following the routine set by none other than the Gryffindor bookworm. He would wake up early read a few pages from the notes for an hour before breakfast, 2 hours of book reading between breakfast and lunch, free hours during the day and 2 hours of revision and practice session after dinner.

-X-X-

Molly was a consummate housewife and a devoted mother, she was not an exceptional witch like many others of her age but she had her qualities. Molly's observation skills were well known among her peers, she could read someone's body-language like a book. She had noted that there was some tension between Harry and her youngest son Ron. She knew that they will be able to sort things out, given the time but she didn't want to stretching his tension longer then it was needed. She decided, after 10 days of observation that it was time to intervene. She asked both the boys to stay in the kitchen after the breakfast.

"What's going on between you two and don't try to deny."

"Harry just abandoned me mum, he left me alone in the class." Ron answered, sounding a bit hurt.

Harry winced but replied in a steady voice, "Mrs. Weasley, I just planned to change one elective this term."

Molly had a questioning look on her face. "But Harry, why would you change the course now?"

"The subject and the professor does not get along with future plans of mine, Mrs. Weasley".

Molly turned to her son now, "Ron dear, why don't you change the subject to the one Harry is opting for?".

"Mum, the subject is too hard, too much work to do and I want to try for House Quidditch team. I need free time to practice."

"Ron, Harry is trying to do what he feels is right for him. He is not abandoning you, he will be sharing other classes with you, won't he? Now it's up to you Ron to decide if you want to change subject with Harry or make your peace with the decision he takes for himself."

"I will try, mum". Ron left the room with that answer.

Molly turned towards Harry now. "Harry dear, give him some time and talk to him. He will come around soon, it takes some time for emotions to seep through to him."

"I will talk to him, Mrs. Weasley".

-X-X-

He was sitting in a dark room, windows bolted from inside and no source of light apart from the fire burning in fireplace. His eyes were staring into the fire, his mind was racing, imagining and playing all the possible scenarios in his mind. There was no sound in the room apart from the crackling of wooden log burning in the fireplace. His round-faced servant was standing on the side facing him, expression of worry evident. The second person was on one knee, holding the armrest of his high-backed leather chair on the other side of Wormtail.

He moved his hand to rest on the head of the kneeling person. With a strained voice, which came out like a hiss, he commanded, "Do not fail me, Lord Voldemort do not appreciate failures. If everything goes according to my plan, you will get in Hogwarts and will be close enough to the boy."

"I won't fail you master, I promise I will deliver the boy to you."

"I have high expectations from you, your success will be rewarded in kind. Make sure you don't do something that will alert the old fool."

"Yes master. I will leave with your permission."

"Go and succeed. Wormtail, it's time for my rest".

-X-X-

Harry woke up in his bed with a jolt, still clutching his scar, it was burning like a coal. He noticed that somebody was shaking his shoulder lightly and a worried voice calling his name, he tried to turn his head to see the source of this disturbance. All he saw a brown blur and then someone handed him his glasses. Finally, his vision focussed on the person standing on side of his bed.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too, Harry. Nightmare?"

"Yeah, we will talk about it later."

"When did you arrive?"

"10 minutes ago, my parents are going for a conference today so dad dropped me here a bit early."

Harry sat in his bed now, fully awake. Hermione moved to the other bed in the room and violently shook the occupants shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, without any success, apart from a groan.

"Please wake him up and come down for breakfast. Hurry up."

With those words, Hermione left the room with a near impossible job of waking up Ron falling on Harry's shoulder. Harry removed his blankets and stepped on the floor of the room and stepped closer to Ron's bed. He shrieked near Ron's ears and Ron almost jumped out of his bed and fell to the floor. Harry was laughing at the expense of his best friend who was directing an intense glare of fury towards him. He sobered with just one look towards his friend and left the room with a final remark that the breakfast was ready.

The next three days were just a blur of activity, the major factor being the excitement of approaching world cup and Harry's ancient runes study. Harry's study schedule suddenly became stricter with the arrival of his bossy best friend, he still got few hours to enjoy but he had to completely concentrate on study in the designated time slots. He came to know during his study time that Hermione was a very patient teacher and Harry was beginning to get hold of the fundamentals of the subject under her tutelage.

The day of the world cup final arrived and they were all ready for the day ahead. Harry had packed all the essentials in his school bag, it was just a one day trip anyway. Harry, in the company of the Weasleys and Hermione, left the Burrow well before dawn. According to Mr. Weasley, they had to reach some location before half past six. It was a 30-minute track though the fields towards the hill. He could see that Ron and Ginny were still a bit sleepy, the other members of the group looked fully awake. At the top of the hill they met two people, a man in his early forties, named Amos Diggory who was a colleague of Mr. Weasley working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and a good-looking, brown-haired fellow Hogwarts student named Cedric Diggory who was in the seventh year.

They were standing around an old leather boot, Harry was confused about the situation and just like every other confusing situation, he turned towards Hermione for answers with a questioning look. She whispered in his ear that it was a portkey. He still had no idea what she was talking about, Hermione just smiled and mouthed _'Later'_. Mr. Weasley asked everyone to hold the old boot, he followed without a question. A few seconds later the boot glowed blue and at that moment he felt a strong pull behind his navel and his legs lost contact with the ground. It felt like he was in some kind of whirlpool and as soon as he realized the sensation, it was over. He landed on hard ground on his bum with a thump.

A/N: I hope you like the story. Creative criticism is welcome. There might be some errors, if you find any please PM me.


	3. B1: Chapter 3 - Snitch and the Symbol

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: The scene after the match always had me wanting for more action, may a few duels or some injuries other than the muggle family. It felt like Death Eaters weren't putting their heart in it. But there was just one available answer (which was difficult to digest), Death Eaters were in full regalia and they fled the moment the Dark Mark was cast.

Chapter Three: Snitch and the Symbol

Harry was standing in an almost circular clearing in a wood with dense, tall birch trees marking the edge of the clearing, clearing was large enough for a school bus to fit in perfectly. Two man were standing at one side of the clearing where a path in woods could be seen behind them, wearing picnic shirts and khakis, it was clear that these were not muggles. One of them was holding a clipboard in one hand and a quill in the other and the second one was standing in front of a large, cube-shaped bin. As the group approached them, the second man took the old boot from Mr. Weasley and dumped it into the bin full of very mundane items while the man with the clipboard ticked something on it. With a curt nod in their direction, Arthur led the group towards the path in the woods. They were on the other side of the woods in less than 5 minutes and the view had everyone's jaw hitting the ground.

They were standing on the edge of a widespread plain which was bustling with very excited crowd weaving their way around densely erected tents. Arthur was in the lead, guiding them towards their own residence for the next 24 hours. Every tent they crossed had a name plate planted on a board on the side of the entrance to the tent. They could see the flags of different countries on the tents, decorations from their homeland adorning the small yard in front of the tents. It was so colourful that it made them a bit watery eyed due to the blast of bright colours around them. A few people, mounted on their brooms, were enjoying the view from some height. A few small shops selling different items including Quidditch merchandize and some other flashy things, completely unknown to Harry, were present every few hundred foot. On their way to their destination, they met some school friends including Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, Harry bought a set of Omnioculars for himself and Hermione as the other Weasleys already had their old ones.

As they reached their tent, Diggorys said their goodbyes and went ahead. Harry was perplexed as he looked at the size of the tent, it looked smaller than his room at Privet Drive, how was it supposed to house seven people. As he crossed the threshold, his eyes were giving a tough competition to Dobby and he was speechless for the second time in less than an hour. Hermione certainly noticed the amused looks her best friend and whispered a single word in his ear ' _Magic_ '.

-X-X-

Ronald Weasley was a little bit angry with his father, the reason behind this was his father's enthusiastic suggestion that this camping would be more fun if they do it muggle way. As the result of that suggestion, Ron, along with Harry and Hermione, was carrying water in a metal pot from a tap a few hundred yards away from their camp. As they reached closer to tent, they could see four official looking wizards talking to Mr. Weasley.

Harry was trying to avoid the introduction for very obvious reasons but his attempt to sneak into the tent unnoticed was in vain as Mr. Weasley called the three of them ahead to be introduced to the wizards. Polite wishes and handshakes were exchanged and every eye shot towards Harry's scar as he was introduced to the gentlemen by Mr. Weasley. He only needed introducing to three out of the four as the fourth one was the former 'Head boy' of Hogwarts, Percy Weasley who was now a Ministry of Magic employee.

The other three were Ludo Bagman, Paul Perkins and Bartemius Crouch. Ludo Bagman was a tall man in his early thirties with an overgrown midsection and short blonde hair, he was the head of Department of Magical Games and Sports. He seemed like a jovial person and was soon pulled aside by the twins. Paul Perkins was a Ministry worker in the same department as Arthur, he was a short but lean guy, looked a few years older than Arthur. Bartemius Crouch was the head of Department of International Magical Cooperation, he was the boss of Percy and at the moment the reason of his embarrassment too as he was continuously being called 'Weatherby'. Barty Crouch had a look of authority, he looked at people as he was clearly suspicious of their intentions.

Harry was relieved when this unwanted company went their own way. He was glad that he back among the people who won't be staring as his scar. They were joined a few minute letter by the twins who were, unsurprisingly, in a happy mood.

As Mr. Weasley went to bring the fireplace alive, Ron directed a question towards the twins. "What were you guys talking about with Mr. Bagman?".

"Nothing significant…."

"Just placing bets…."

"For the game tonight…."

"Want to make one, little brother?"

"Yeah, 5 sickles, Krum will get the snitch and Bulgaria will win."

"Got it."

"Harry, Hermione. Want to test your luck?"

"Keep me out of it". Hermione replied and went where Ginny sat in her bed in one of the rooms.

"I am not sure. What are you betting on?" Harry responded.

"Oh, it's the difficult choice…."

"that we made about the bet…."

"Certainly risky…."

"But most probable…."

"Krum will get the snitch…."

"But Irish team will win."

"You two most certainly will lose". Ron had a smirk on his face.

"Have some faith in us, Ickle Ronnikins."

The next few hours went by eating, discussing the upcoming match and tactics, Harry was surprised by the understanding Ginny had about the game. There was friendly teasing, games of exploding snap, wizarding chess and a few light hearted small pranks (mostly directed at Ron). It was a happy group of people who left the tent to go for the final.

-X-X-

The group was seated in the Minister's box in the stadium, Minister and other guest sitting at the front of the box. The pre-match commentary and the line-ups for the match were announced but Harry was looking at the next row of seats. The pair of seats in front of him were somewhat empty, at least one of them was. The other seat was occupied by a house elf, it was not that he was shocked to see an elf but he was surprised that an elf was seating in the Minister's box as Harry was well aware of the condition of house elves in Britain.

His curiosity got better of him and he asked "Who are you?". Hermione leaned in to hear the conversation from her seat beside Harry.

"I's Winky. I's the house elf of Mr. Crouch."

"You are waiting for him?", Hermione asked.

"Master ask Winky to keep his seat empty and the sit in the seat."

Before the conversation could go any further, they heard a snort from behind which was immediately followed by the remark, 'Potter, still fraternizing with vermin'.

Harry didn't need to turn his head to identify the speaker, he had enough experience with a certain blonde ponce. "One of them dropped your father on his bum", he replied while turning to face them. Harry kicked himself internally for not expecting the senior Malfoy ponce to be present there.

"People often forget their place in civilized society, don't they Mr. Potter." The elder Malfoy replied with a sneer.

"My definition of civilized society does not match yours, Mr. Malfoy." The last word coming out of Harry's mouth like a curse.

"Enjoy your days, however less they may be." With that remark, the father-son duo moved towards the front of the box to sit just beside the Minister.

A few Moments later Fudge was on his feet with his wand-tip placed on the side of his neck, just below his right ear.

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Tonight, I welcome you to the final of the 422 Quidditch World Cup. It is an honour to be the host of such a magnificent event. So, let's begin."

The announcement was followed by a loud canon blast. As the sound of the canon blast died, the commentators started talking about the match. As they announced the mascot of Irish team, a group of leprechauns appeared on a floating platform above the pitch. They started their traditional dance, as Harry watched the dance he saw shiny things falling towards the audience. He came to realize that the shiny pieces were gold coins of the size of a galleon. The moment few of them had fallen on the ground, Ron started filling the pocket of his robes with them. The twins could not hold their laughter anymore.

"Hey, Ronnikins…."

"You know right…."

"That its Leprechaun Gold…."

"It will vanish away in 6 hours."

The painful and shocked expression on Ron's face looked like he was hit on his head with a beaters bat by his twins. The colour on his face could rival the colour of his hair. He slumped in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Harry was feeling sorry for Ron but still he could laugh about what he witnessed a few moments back.

"You know, I could have enjoyed this year a bit more with that gold. I hate to be poor." Ron told to Harry, his voice barely heard by him. Harry just nodded in response.

Once the Leprechaun dance was over, commentators announced the arrival of the mascot of Bulgarian team. Harry was mesmerized by the beautiful creatures clad in red robes dancing in mid-air, he was certain that he hasn't seen a more beautiful person. Harry felt his right arm being gripped in a vicelike grip by Hermione, he turned towards her with a questioning look. She just tilted her head towards other members of their group. Ron was whistling like a wolf and thumping his chest, his eyes glazed. Ginny was trying to drag him back to his seat by his shirt. Mr. Weasley were holding the twins back. Harry looked around the box and almost every wizard was acting in the same manner. Harry's confusion was evident on his face, Hermione answered his unasked query, "They are Veelas, Harry, their magical charm attracts males towards them at least those with week mental control."

Soon after, a small fight broke between the mascots, volunteers had to escort both team mascots out of the pitch. Once the crowd settled down, the commentators announced the Irish team and then the Bulgarian team who entered the pitch flying on their brooms. The loudest cheer around the stadium could be heard for the Bulgarian seeker, Victor Krum.

As the referee blew the whistle, the match started. Harry was mesmerized by the speed of the game, players on their brooms were just blurs. Harry missed a part of the match as he was watching it in slow-motion on his omnioculars but by that time, Irish team had scored 4 goals and the pitch was at bit crowded. He asked Ron about it. "Krum faked, got the Irish guy in a Wronski Feint. I think the guy broke his arm."

The whole stadium erupted in cheers and boos as Krum caught the snitch in less than half an hour but just before the catch was complete, Irish team scored their 17 goal. The final score read 170-160 in favour of Irish. The twins were laughing like mad and jumping while hugging each other. An hour later the merry group was back in their tent but the celebration was just starting.

The next thing Harry remembered was Mr. Weasley running in the tent and shouting to them to get their bags and come out of the tent immediately. In less than a minute, the group was standing out of their tent and in the middle of chaos.

"Fred, George, take Ginny and go towards the stadium. Ginny is your responsibility. You three, stay together and follow the twins." Arthur shouted and ran towards the eye of this chaos. Harry could see the rising smoke and a faint orange glow towards the horizon, there was fire in the camp.

All six were running as fast as they can in the cramped space between the tents to get to the stadium. Harry felt Hermione's arm slipping from his grip, he turned towards her but he could not see her in the crowd. As he turned, he saw the reason of all this chaos. A group of around 3 dozen masked wizards in black cloaks was coming towards him, throwing fireballs from their wands towards the tents. It was a horrifying scene, he ran away from the group, his survival instincts guiding him.

He reached a clearing, he could still hear the noise but they were damped down due to the trees surrounding the clearing. He recognized that this was the clearing from where they arrived, he searched his jacket for his wand but came emptyhanded. A feeling of dread coming over, just as he was thinking about his next step, a green beam of light shot towards the sky from behind him. His scar suddenly started burning, more painful than he had experienced since the night in the chamber. His knees gave away and he fell on the ground, his head turning towards the sky and then he saw it.

In the sky, a green skull was present, like a cloud. A snake was coming out of the mouth of the skull, twisting and turning. Then he could remember just one feeling, fear. He dragged himself towards the mouth of the opening as he heard multiple pops and more than a dozen wizards appeared in front of him and fired stunners towards him. He fell to the ground before any of the stunner reached him.

"Stop!" He saw Mr. Weasley running towards him.

"Stop! He is Harry Potter." The wand arms of the group relaxed a bit. Arthur help Harry up.

The moment Harry was on his feet, a wand was pointed towards his face, mere inches away from his nose.

"Why did you fired the mark?" He person asked. Harry recognized the man now, it was Barty Crouch.

"What mark, I didn't do anything?"

"You two, check the clearing." He ordered two of the man standing behind him in a semicircle.

"Barty, he is the last person who would fire that mark. Please have some sense. Why would Harry Potter Fire You-Know-Who's mark." Arthur tried to reason with Barty Crouch.

A few moments later, the two guards came out of the clearing with a something held between them. As they came closer, he recognized the one held between the guards, it was the house elf he came across in the Minister's Box. One of the guards handed a wand to Barty Crouch, Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"That's my wand." He tried to snatch it but failed.

"Sir, the wand and the elf were the only things present in the clearing. We checked the wand, the mark was fired using it." One of the man said.

"Winky! Did you use the wand?" Barty Crouch shouted in his angriest voice.

The elf was shaking with fear and her head hung low, with teary eyes she just nodded.

"I will habdle this on my own. Get everyone else to safety." Mr. Crouch ordered.

As they group started towards the stadium, Harry's curiosity got better of him and he finally asked Arthur. "What just happened here, who were those wizards?"

"Harry, that was the mark of You-Know-Who, it was called Dark Mark. During the time of his terror, whenever his followers 'Death Eaters' raided someone's house and killed someone, they would leave the Dark Mark floating in the sky. It was a terrifying sight, consider the fear when you return from work and see the mark floating in above your house."

"Yeah, I can understand."


	4. B1: Chapter 4 - Goblet of Fire

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter onwards the story will have a few small changes. I should first clarify that it is not a redo of Harry Potter books rather it would follow the general story line. There will be major changes coming to the story towards the end of this chapter, there will be additions to the story but the storyline will remain more or less the same. Please Review (good-bad doesn't matter)

Chapter Four: Goblet of Fire

It was difficult enough to teach a difficult subject like ancient runes to a beginner, the job was made difficult by the disinterest shown by the said person towards it. Hermione was trying to teach the fundamentals of the subject to Harry to make sure that he passes his exam in the upcoming term but she could see that her effort was in vain at the moment. It has been two days since the 'World Cup Fiasco', as it was termed by the Daily Prophet. Hermione was certain that Harry was distracted, though she wasn't certain about the main reason but she knew that the events that took place two days ago, played a major role in it.

"Harry, what's on your mind?" Hermione asked after thinking about it for too long.

"Nothing." Harry replied, avoiding looking Hermione in the eye.

"It's not 'nothing' Harry, tell me what is it that has you so distracted."

He finally relented, "Okay. It's just some dreams, kind of nightmarish, I have been having over the summer. It's not a big deal." Harry replied with a sigh, his expressions turning a bit sad, his eyes having the look of confusion.

"It may very well be, tell me about these dreams of yours." Hermione asked, scooting closer to Harry.

Harry explained the dreams he had been having throughout the summer with all the details he could remember. He told her about the prickling he felt in his scar during these dreams. An expression of concern covered Hermione's face, she had been a part of all the adventures since the Halloween night in their first year but Harry had never had these kinds of dreams. This had her worried about her closest friend.

"Harry, you should talk to Sirius or may be Dumbledore. This does not sound normal to me." Hermione's voice dropped to the lever of whisper, laced with concern for the wellbeing of Harry.

Harry just nodded and diverted his gaze back to the book opened on his lap. Harry still wanted to ask Hermione if she knew anything about the Dark Mark or Voldemort's followers but was uncertain about the extent of Hermione's knowledge in this area due to her muggle upbringing.

"Hermione, what do you know about the Dark Mark?"

"Just that it was the mark of You-Know-Who and almost everyone was running like rats after it was cast."

"And what about his followers?"

"They are called Death Eaters. They hide their identity by the masks. Most of them are locked in Azkaban. The extent of my knowledge in this regard is quite small but I can do some in-depth research when we return to the castle, if you want?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mrs. Weasley poked her head in the room and then walked inside with a basket of washed cloths in her hands. She waved her wand over the basket and a pile of neatly folded cloths formed on Harry's trunk, at the foot of the bed.

"Harry dear, I took the liberty to repair your clothes and altered them a bit to fit you more properly." She pointed towards the pile with a smile.

Harry rose from his bed and gave a very warm hug to Mrs. Weasley, too emotional to say something at the moment. Molly just patted him on the back, she now realized that the boy has grown taller than her and was in a much better physical state then the day she first met him on the King's Cross Station. She broke the hug after a few moments and gave harry a pouch and a key.

"I went to Diagon Alley while you people were away. I got your books, supplies and some coins you will need during the term. Oh, I got you a formal dress robe as was requested in the letter. All that stuff is downstairs. Hermione dear, I hope you had already bought all the require items beforehand?"

Hermione nodded and Harry said his thanks to the Weasley matriarch, a big smile pasted on his face. He returned to his place on the bed to continue his studies. A few minutes later, he asked Hermione about the reason of being asked to bring a dress robe, just to quench the curiosity. Not unlike himself, she had no idea about it.

-X-X-

The day of their return to the castle arrived and the Weasley household fell into chaos. Like every year at the Burrow, Weasley family was busy in last minute packing, repacking, checking and rechecking of all the luggage of the four Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione. Harry had to pack his trunk last night due to incessant by his bookworm of a friend. He had packed everything last night before bedtime, checked it before breakfast and rechecked before leaving. Harry sent Hedwig to Sirius two days ago, hence the only thing he had to carry today was his trunk which was at the moment loaded with all his possessions.

Mr. Weasley had last night informed everyone in the house that they will be directly going to the platform 9 and ¾ by floo-travel, the plan was to leave at 10:45. As Harry remembered the from his past experience that the set schedule won't be followed and they would need to make a run to catch the express.

They arrived at the platform, just in time for everyone to board the train but not enough for the farewells to spoken with a hug. The group of six started walking towards the back of the train to find an empty compartment, in the trio's case or their friends, in case of the other Weasley kids. Weasley twins left their group when they saw Lee Jordan sharing a compartment with their fellow Gryffindor Quidditch team chasers namely Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. Ginny moved to walked away when she saw her year mates in a compartment halfway down the train. It was the trio that had to walk almost till the last compartment to find an empty one.

An hour later, the food trolley passed by their compartment and to no one's surprise, Ron was hungry. Thus, a heavy treat was purchased and the friends made himself busy while the other two immersed themselves in the ancient runes book. A few minutes later, Harry was distracted from his study by a group of giggling girls who crossed by their compartment. One of them caught Harry's attention, she was an Asian girl from Ravenclaw, as was evident from her school robes and a prefect, the badge on her left breast with a 'P' shining in the afternoon sunlight of the summer. She had an average height, big brown eyes and straight black hair which reached the top of her hips. He remembered that she played seeker on the Ravenclaw team last year. She gave him a smile and walked away with her friends.

Harry got an instant crush for the Ravenclaw seeker, she was beautiful. Harry returned to his books, there was more important things at the moment to be worried about and an upcoming exam was certainly one of them. The remainder of the train ride was spent in either studying or in general conversation. A few of their friends from their house came to greet the trio. Harry was a bit surprised when a certain Slytherin and his bunch of baboons did not show up for majority of the train ride and as every good thing this also came to an end when the said person opened the door of their compartment in the final half hour of their train journey.

"Ha, I knew this coach was stinking and now we have the reason sitting here." Draco said with an evil sneer pasted on his long face. The two troll-like figures of Crabbe and Goyle were laughing on the either side of Malfoy.

"Bugger off, Malfoy." Ron replied from his position near the window.

"You need to learn manners to talk to your betters Weasley, I would be willing to teach you." Malfoy replied while drawing his wand from his cloak. Harry wasn't too far behind in drawing the want.

"Step out Malfoy or will make you." Harry responded, raising his wand towards the blonde boy.

"You can do nothing to me, scarhead."

Without uttering anything further, Harry lowered his wand and fired a stinging hex towards Draco's groin. Draco yelped in pain and fell backwards on his bodyguards. Harry closed the door the moment Draco fell and set with his wand pointing towards the door. Crabbe-Goyle raised Draco back on his legs, the trio could not hear a word from Malfoy but they could recognize the lip-movement which was the 'Draco Malfoy's patent for comeback', _'My father will hear about this'._ They three Slytherins left them alone afterwards for the short remainder of the ride.

"Harry, you shouldn't have done that. You could get into trouble." Hermione said in her worried voice.

"He won't Hermione, the ponce wouldn't want anybody to know that he got stung at his bits." Ron replied, laughing at his own wit.

-X-X-

The 'Start of the term' feast was, as usual, fantastic. The shear variety of the dishes had Harry stunned and Ron extremely delighted. Dinnertime was spend sharing the summer experience with their friends and after an hour since the beginning of the feast, headmaster Dumbledore stepped towards the podium which resembled an owl perched on tall perch, with its wings spread open.

"If you all had the fill of your appetite, may I have your attention! To all the new students, welcome. To the old ones, welcome back. The obligatory announcements need to be made, the forbidden forest is just that, forbidden. Our caretaker Mr. Filch has informed me that there are 412 items prohibited to brought in and used inside the castle, the complete list of such items is available in his office."

As Dumbledore was making the announcement, a new person entered the Great Hall from the anteroom behind the raised platform of teachers' table. Every eye turned towards the new entry, He was a talk man with a prosthetic metallic leg and an electric blue prosthetic eye which swirled in its socket seemingly uncontrollably. His face filled with scars and his nose missing a chunk on the right side. He looked like a monster came to earth from the hell. The design of his walking stick did nothing to dampening the effect of his appearance. An angry scowl permanently present o his face. As he came closer to Dumbledore, he extracted a flask from his robe, took a swill and replaced it back in his robes. Dumbledore turned towards the newcomer and gave him a respectful nod, backed with a smile.

"There is a change in staff this year, your ne Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Alastor Moody". Dumbledore stepped towards the new DADA professor and gave him a hug as he was an old friend, afterwards returning to the podium.

"This year, this historic castle will be the host for not only you but some very special guests as well. The guest will be arriving on the first of October, they will grace this great school with their presence for the remainder of the school year. I would expect a great deal of fun and excitement from this year to last majority of your school life. But everything comes at a cost, there will be no Quidditch this year."

This announcement was met by voices of protest, angry shouts and loud groans. The noise level in the Great Hall has suddenly risen to such an extent that even an angry dragon roar would have gone unnoticed. It took better part of the minute for the headmaster to bring order to this chaos, using a canon blast charm.

"It is, as of now, a surprise for you which be revealed next month. Now you may proceed towards your dormitories, I don't want professors complaining about students falling asleep on the first day of the school year. Goodnight!"

-X-X-

The castle was abuzz with the speculation regarding the surprise in waiting for the students for the last two weeks. Dumbledore has a habit of being too cryptic and Harry has made a habit of not pondering too much about it. He had more pressing issues at the moment to deal with. His life at Hogwarts had fallen into a boring schedule, sharing DADA and Potions with Slytherins, Transfiguration and Charms with Ravenclaws and Herbology and Astronomy with Hufflepuffs. His other two classes, namely Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, were shared with all the other houses. The time not spent in classes was consumed by the preparation for his upcoming exam, Hermione had prepared a timetable and a work schedule but Harry felt that he will fail the exam even with all the efforts.

The only interesting thing that happened these past two weeks, apart from the interesting insults (according to Slytherins, especially Malfoy) hurled towards him by none other than professor Snape, was the first DADA lesson with the 'Moody Guy'.

It was the second day of their classes and Gryffindor and Slytherins shared double DADA in the morning. The students were assembled outside the classroom five minutes prior to the class timing, everyone feeling a combination of confusion-excitement-fear.

At sharp 9 o' clock, the door to the classroom open on its own with the professor sitting alert in his seat behind the table. As the students were walking in, he shouted _'Shields up'_ and fired four stinging hexes towards the students.

Only four students got their shields up in time, Harry, Draco, Hermione and Daphne Greengrass. One of the hexes impacted on Draco's shield and shattered it. Three of the remaining students were not so lucky. Crabbe, Neville and Lavender Brown were hit with the stinging hexes, there were sniggers and a few laughs mixed with the cry of pain coming from the three hit students.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Get to your seats, NOW!" Moody roared, his voice a bit stronger than expected. As everyone was settling down, Moody turned towards the black board and started writing something.

"Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Ex-Auror, twice expelled from Ministry and your New Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. End of the story, goodbye, the end." He turned back towards the class and stared at the students with a menacing look.

"My job is to train you to defend yourselves against dark arts, only a few of you will have the required ability to do so. When it comes to dark arts, I will bloody demonstrate it."

Every eye was fixed on the professor, there was silence in the class. Each and every face had a hint of fear present and the rotating blue eye giving everyone the feeling of nausea. Moody turned back towards the board and wrote two words _'Unforgivable Curses'_.

"Who can tell me, how many unforgivable curses are there and why they are named so?"

A few hands shot up in the air, one of them was obviously belonged to Miss Granger. With a nod in her direction, Moody signalled her to answer.

"Three sir, they are named so because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will..."

Moody cut her off mid-sentence. "Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now, the Ministry says you are too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared!", and again turned towards the board to write the curses, "And you should find a different spot to stick your chewing gum Mr. Finnigan."

"Blimey, he can see behind his back", he whispered to the person sharing the desk with him and in response he received a chalk piece to the head, curtesy to the professor.

"And can hear that too. Now who is going to tell us about the first unforgivable? Nott, stand-up and answer!"

"Well, father told me one, the Imperius Curse."

"Ha, he would know lot about it. He was under You-Know-Who's Imperius, at least that's what he told to the Wizengamot."

He demonstrated the curse on a spider by moving it around the class room, there were sniggers and supressed laughter. He cancelled the curse after a few moments. "The curse controls the will of a person, makes them to abide by the will of the caster unless his will is stronger than the caster's."

"Now, who is going to tell us about the second one." To everyone's surprise, Neville raised his hand.

"You are Longbottom, right? Professor Sprout told me, you have a talent for Herbology."

"The second unforgivable is the Cruciatus curse", Neville answered with a stuttering voice which was barely audible at the back. Moody put the spider down on his desk and said the word 'Crucio' with his wand pointed on the spider. There was a painful screeching voice coming from the spider, the voice itself was like a torture to ears. Neville's face turned red, his lips pursed together, a few tears coming down from his closed eyes.

"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him, STOP IT!" Hermione shouted from her seat at the front of the class.

Moody finished the spell, picked up the spider and moved towards her. He dropped the spider in front of her and asked her.

"You might know the last one Miss Granger." She violently shook her head to say no.

"Avada Kedavra", the words were followed by a green flash and the spider dropped dead on Hermione's desk. "The last one is the killing Curse and there is only one person who has survived it." He turned towards Harry with an unidentifiable expression on his face.

"Submit a two feet long essay on Unforgivables by the end of the next week. Class Dismissed!".

Everyone started to pack their bags and began to leave the class. Before anyone could step out of the room, Moody shouted.

"Longbottom, stay behind. I want to talk to you."

-X-X-

Tomorrow is the exam for ancient runes and Harry had the feeling that he is going to screw things up. It was after curfew, the common room was almost empty excepts for a few students who were either busy in amorous activities before going to their separate dorms or in the case of Harry and Hermione, studying. Hermione was trying her best to pump up Harry's confidence, they were doing the 'last revision' according to Hermione. They had already done the revision once and Hermione was certain that Harry will score, at the least, an acceptable.

"Harry, I think we have done enough. You should sleep six hours before the exam, you definitely need the rest. Everything tomorrow will be alright."

"How do you know, I might flounder the test."

"No you won't, I know because I taught you these last few weeks. Now go or else I would have to stun you and send to your dorm."

"Ok ok, I will leave in a minute." He rose from his place on the couch in front of the fireplace, collected his books and other stuff and turned to leave the common room.

"Goodnight Harry, try to relax." Hermione gave him a peck on the cheek and left for her Dorm.

It was odd even for Harry but he blamed it on the exam, he need to keep his wits and try to relax. He went to his dorm. Kept his stuff on his trunk, changed into pyjamas and climbed into his four-poster. His mind was still running a revision cycle, he was unable to sleep then after a few minutes he finally drifted to sleep.

Harry woke up early with a start, the nightmares still bothered him but they have been less frequent since he returned to the school. He checked the time and decided to get ready and go for an early breakfast as it was already half past 6. He looked around the dorm, all his dormmates were fast asleep, nothing unusual as they don't have to worry about a test. By seven, he was ready to go to the Great Hall but remembered that it was Hermione's birthday. He opened the trunk where a gift box was hidden underneath his school stuff. He picked up the gift and moved went down to the common room expecting to meet Hermione, she was the early riser in their group. As Harry reached the bottommost stair he saw the bushy haired witch sitting on the couch, reading something. He moved towards her without making any noise, as he reached the couch, he bent forward so his face was inches away from Hermione's ear, he wished her happy birthday in the most excited voice he could muster.

Hermione jumped out of the couch with the surprise interruption and fell on her backside on the ground. Harry was laughing hysterically on the success of his prank and the hilarity of Hermione's reaction.

"Don't you ever do that, Harry Potter or I will hang you from your ears." She said with the angriest expression but it was useless as a smile came to the front. Their laughter subsided a minute later, Harry wished her happy birthday with a hug and gave her the birthday gift. She hurriedly opened the gift to find a leather-bound magical daily planner. Hermione mumbled her thanks, "Thanks Harry, I wanted one of these."

As they went down to the Great Hall, Hermione kept quizzing Harry with questions related to the exam that afternoon. To her surprise, Harry answered majority of questions right. As they were inching closer towards the end of their breakfast, Ron entered the great hall, still looking a bit sleepy. He plopped down across from Harry and started to fill his plate with as much food as he can reach from his position.

"Good morning mate." Ron said, his voice a bit hoarse after the sleep.

"Good morning." Both Harry and Hermione chimed in unison. "Ron, aren't you forgetting something?" Harry asked after a minute of silence in which Ron stuffed his mouth to its limit, with food. In response, he just shrugged, not even looking up from his plate and busied himself with the breakfast.

"Let it be, Harry. I wasn't expecting a birthday greeting from him this early in the day anyway." Hermione said while giving an icy glare to Ron who missed it completely.

"Hmm? Oh, Happy birthday Hermione." His voice muffled by the food stuffed in his mouth, finally looking up from his plate.

"Prepared for the test Harry?" Ron asked.

"The best I can be, I will just revise the notes during lunch. Test does not start till half past one." Harry responded, worry clearly seen on his facial features. A few minutes later they rose from their seats to collect their bags from the common room before the classes.

When Harry entered the examination room, he realized that he was not the only student who was changing their respective elective. Anthony Goldstein, a fourth year Ravenclaw, was changing both his electives from Magical Creature and Divination to arithmancy and Ancient Runes. A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating the start of three-hour long exam. The examination was easier than Harry expected but was tedious nonetheless. Harry left the examination room 10 minutes earlier then the scheduled time after answering all the questions whose answers he could remember. He was now confident that he would get an acceptable which was required to continue classes. The result for today's exam would be announced tomorrow morning before the classes.

The evening was spent in the common room, celebrating Hermione's fifteenth birthday. The twins smuggled food and juice from the kitchen for the small party where only a handful of Gryffindors were present. It was the first birthday party Hermione received from her friends and her emotional response was evidence enough that she was grateful for it.

-X-X-

October 1, 1994

Every Hogwarts student and staff was waiting on the ground in front of the entrance to the great hall for the arrival of their guests. They were facing the black lake on their right side of the castle. They were standing there, in their best school uniform robes for fifteen minutes. When it looked like there was no end to their waiting period, a distant rippling noise was heard. Everyone stepped closer to the lake to get a better view of the reason behind the noise. An old, wooden sail ship rose from below the surface and came into view, water splashing everywhere as it ricocheted from the surface once. Then it moved slowly towards the port where the 'first year boats' were kept. People in brown, fury robes were disembarking from the ship.

As they started walking towards the castle, a sound resembling horse neighing was heard overhead. Every eye shot towards the sky. The view they saw was breath-taking, a horde of pale blue Abraxan was carrying a carriage towards the castle. The carriage jerking one way then the other as the beast swerved in the best position to land on the castle grounds on the side of the castle, near the forbidden forest.

Around twenty teenagers, mostly girls, in pale blue silk uniforms, stepped out from the carriage, led by an exceptionally tall woman in an aristocratic looking robe. The tallest person Hogwarts students had met was Hagrid but the woman was taller than their gamekeeper but her walk was as graceful as a model. Professor Flitwick stepped towards her to escort her towards the assembly of Hogwarts students. The scene was a bit funny due to the huge height difference but every boy in the castle was looking towards the beautiful girls in the entourage. The entourage stopped on the right side of the castle. At the same time professor Snape escorted the entourage from the ship who enter the castle from the front. Now all the girls were swooning over the muscular boys, clad in brown military-esque uniform and a furry cloak.

A few moments later, a bright golden glow came into view at the left side of the castle, near the bottom of the hill. The next moment a distinctly Japanese styled ornate pyramidal wooden cottage appeared. A group of people in pale golden cloaks with red lining stepped out of the main door of the cottage. Professor McGonagall led the group towards the assembly, a short bald Japanese man with sharp facial features and dark red robes was walking on her right-hand side.

As the group was walking towards the assembly, there was a rumbling sound coming from the ground. A few seconds later, a stonewalled three storeyed castle emerged from the ground with a maroon flag on the top. The doors opened and a group of people in blue and cranberry coloured uniform stepped towards the castle with a dark-skinned witch with an interesting hairdo in lead, the group was escorted by Professor sprout.

Dumbledore asked the Hogwarts students to enter the great hall escorted house wise by their respective head of house and afterwards he led the guests in the entrance hall where they had to wait for their introduction before they entered the great hall. Dumbledore walked in the great hall and assumed his place behind the podium. All eyes were now fixed on the old wizard in purple robe.

"Tonight, we have some special guests. I know you want to be introduced them without any further delay, so let's welcome the beautiful ladies and handsome boys from Beauxbaton Academy of Magic and their headmistress, Madam Maxime."

The group of students in blue uniforms entered the great hall, with the tall woman named Madam Maxime in lead. Every boy was watching the movement of the French students like a hungry child looks at a chocolate bar, a few of them drooling like idiot and some staring lecherously. The students walked up to the raised platform where Madame Maxime stepped towards Dumbledore who kissed her knuckles, the students joined Hogwarts students at Ravenclaw table. Their Headmistress assumed her place on the left-hand side of Dumbledore on the teachers' table.

"Now, please welcome our guests from the far north, the brave sons of Durmstrang Institute and their Master teacher Igor Karkaroff."

The brown-cloaked boys walked in the great hall with the air of superiority with their Master teacher in the lead, each member of their group held a bronze staff with two eagle heads on the top in their right hand. Karkaroff stepped on the platform and shook hands with the headmaster and sat on the right side of the headmaster's seat. His pupils sat at the Slytherin house table.

"Now, I would like to introduce you to our guests from the eastern corner of the world, students from Mahoutokoro School of Magic and their headmaster Sensei Roshi Kami."

The group moved towards the platform, students entered in two rows, each of them holding a Japanese folding fan. The group joined the Hufflepuff house table, their sensei stepped on the platform and gave a traditional bow to Dumbledore, which Dumbledore reciprocated before shaking hands. Sensei joined Karkaroff on the right side.

"Last but not the least, let us welcome our brothers and sisters from the new world with open arms. The students from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and their head of institute, Madam Adlynn Picquery."

The group entered into the great hall with their head of institute in lead. The students joined the Gryffindor table and Madam Picquery occupied the seat next to madame Maxime.

"Excellent! Tonight, it's an honour for me to announce that this year, Hogwarts will play host for 'Wizards' Quintuple Cup', where one student from each school will participate in this glorious championship."

The response to the announcement was overwhelming, it looked like every Hogwarts student was on his or her feet, clapping and whistling. The guests were also responded with claps. It took a minute for everyone to settle down.

"It was beyond time that the traditional Triwizard Cup be revamped. Thus, after the gap of a century, we present you the 'Wizards' Quintuple Cup'. To introduce you to the new guidelines, I would invite the Director of Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr. Bartemius Crouch."

The man Harry met at the Quidditch World Cup took Dumbledore's place on the podium with a curt smile on his face. His demeanour reflecting his no-nonsense attitude.

"After great deliberation, Ministries for the five participating countries have reached the decision that only the students above the age of seventeen on the eve of Halloween will be eligible for participation. There will be no leniency in the age barrier and this will be final decision."

This announcement was met with voices of protest and dissent. Angry shouts from the Hogwarts students could be heard well beyond the walls of Hogwarts. After a few seconds and a canon blast later, normalcy returned to the great hall. Four men carried a golden statue around 3 feet high which looked like bishop chess piece from muggle chess. It was placed in front of the podium, Dumbledore tapped his want and the golden façade dissolved to reveal an ornate wooden chalice no bigger than two and a half feet. The chalice had intricate designs on the outside, beginning from the rim and ending at the stem. The base of the stem as wide as troll's leg. Blue flames dancing in the goblet, giving it an ethereal feel.

"The Goblet of Fire! Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on the night before Halloween. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, The Tournament has begun."

A/N: Please review. I hope you like it.


	5. B1: Chapter 5 - Eternal Glory

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Here onwards the story won't contain the happenings in the class room unless it's essential for the story, for example what happened in the Hagrid's class with blast ended screwts and nifflers, there will be mentions of Divination but won't be given dedicated scenes. I will be concentrating on the major events only. The story will have enough content for character development, the character development arc will be crystal clear as the story progresses. Please Review (good-bad doesn't matter)

Chapter Five: Eternal Glory

The month of October was coming to a close, trees turning a shade closer to brown as autumn got a firm grip on the flora around Hogwarts. The month was exceptionally better than many previous ones for young Harry Potter. He had passed his exam for ancient runes with an _acceptable_ and his performance in the subject was steadily improving, with some much-appreciated help from the resident bookworm of Gryffindor. There were only two instances that took place in the past month which were of any significance to him.

There was no change in his fortune with the regards to potions. Snape was as hateful as ever and his antics that resulted in his potions being wiped off from his cauldron before being graded or his sample vial falling to the floor and breaking accidently. God, he hated Snape and potions. It does nothing to help that he had to survive the class with the green snakes from Slytherin. He was aware that not all the Slytherins outright hated him but even the moderate ones were too cold towards him for his liking.

The first major incident happened in the first week of the month, that too in DADA. True to his word, professor Moody showed them the Dark Arts, going far enough to provide them with a first-hand experience due to his hands-on approach regarding Defence.

"I want a volunteer, Potter step ahead." Moody Growled.

Harry obediently stepped towards the front of the class, clearly nervous, being the Guinea pig for professor's experiment.

"Now Potter, clear your mind and concentrate. I'm going to use the Imperius Curse on you and you will try to throw it off." Harry eyes went wide in shock, his eyebrows went high and hidden behind his unruly jet black hair. All eyes pinned on him, his body still as stunned.

"Concentrate Potter, we don't have all day." Harry tried to gather all his Gryffindor courage, he squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and looked directly into the natural eye of the professor.

" _Imperio_ ", the next thing Harry remembered of felt by the feeling of absolute bliss. All his inhibitions and anxieties dropped dead, the only thing in his mind was the voice of Moody.

"When I count five, jump." Moody commanded and started counting from one to five.

As the command was given to Harry, he pushed his mind to stop his body from acting as it was commanded. He put all his will power to make his legs fixed on the ground. The moment Moody reached five, Harry suddenly felt like he was falling and the next thing he remembered was the excruciating pain of a broken bleeding nose and bruised knees.

"Well done Potter, you couldn't throw it off completely but you did good." Moody shouted and raised from the ground with his wand. After two spells and wand movements, his nose was fixed and his knees were in better condition but his shirt still had the blood stains where the blood droplets were fallen from his nose.

"Oh please, any half-wit can do that." Draco snarled in a very un-Malfoyish manner.

"It seems Malfoy's have quite some experience with Imperius curse. What don't you come ahead and try." Moody replied snarling similar to Draco.

Draco bit back the retort and took a step back, trying to avoid a confrontation and humiliation in front of his cronies and followers.

After a pause of a few minutes, Moody when into his lecture mode. "Imperius Curse is a fight of wills. To overcome an Imperius, you must overpower the will of the caster."

"Potter! stay back after the class."

Harry packed his belongings in his bag and waited for everyone to leave before moving closer to the teacher's desk. He was a bit confused at the moment, unsure about the reason of him being asked to stay behind. Moody's artificial eyeball making him feel nervous and nauseous at the same time.

"Your teachers told me, you are good with Defences. You were top of the class last year." Harry just gave single nod, his face laced with confusion.

"Don't worry Potter, I am not giving you a detention. Here, have these book, it will be helpful in future." He handed Harry an old, battered leather-bound book, titled ' _Curse and Counter curses for Beginners_ '. Harry stuffed the book carefully into his bag and thanked the professor with a promise to return it later.

"Don't worry about returning it. Use it well."

The second incident was when Hermione came to know about the kitchen and cooks of Hogwarts. It was during the dinner a few days back when one of the twins mentioned that about it.

"You know brother mine, I think house-elves put their magic into food. That's why it always tastes this good."

"I think you are right, Brother mine."

"What, there are house-elves in the castle?" Hermione asked with shocked raised voice and raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, the largest elf population in any institute in Europe." Fred said, or was it George?

"I think the second largest, George. The largest is at ICW Headquarters." _'So, that was George'_ , Harry thought.

"They have slaves in Hogwarts!" Hermione replied, pushing her meal plate away from herself. "I am not eating this tainted food prepared by slaves." She answered to the questioning looks coming from the twins.

"You can't say no to food, Hermione." Ron blurted with a few pieces of food.

"My appetite is dead, I'm going to the common room." Hermione picked her bag and left the great hall.

During all the hectic schedule and crossing the new faces, people came to know that the Bulgarian seeker, Victor Krum is one of the students of Durmstrang who came for the championship. Ron was trying his best to get his autograph, success in this endeavor still alluded him. Others were busy staring at and drooling over the part-Veela from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour. She was an average tall, blonde with icy blue eyes, her figure was the envy of nearly every witch in the castle, not overly curvy and not too thin. It seemed like almost every male above age of thirteen became a bumbling, drooling mess when he came anywhere near the French beauty. Some of early risers were intrigued when they saw that the Mahoutokoro students were fighting each other near their lodging. It later became a common knowledge that the students daily practiced Aikido for an hour in the morning. The Ilvermorny students were the most relaxed ones, even more than their Hogwarts counterparts. A group of those students could always be found lounging somewhere around the castle grounds.

In the midst of all activities, Hermione was busy planning about a group for the welfare of house-elves.

"Listen, you guys." She said to the group sitting around the couch in front of fireplace, namely Harry, Ron, Neville, Fred, George and Lee Jordan.

"I am starting a new society, Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"spew?" Ron barked, making a face.

"Not spew, S.P.E.W. we will work to abolish elf slavery and fight to give them rights for wages and freedom."

It took better part of the evening and a hour long lecture by Neville Longbottom to explain the things about elves to Hermione after which her only response was 'Oh'.

"Really Hermione, spew? You could do better than that. I would suggest you, never to name anyone hereafter. You are as bad in this regard as I was in Divination." Harry joked, the reaction to this comment was a loud laughter at the expense of Hermione who just huffed and sat back on the couch, her arms folded over her chest.

"A disaster in making, prevented by our own Neville. Good job mate." Ron said, giving a slap on back to Neville, his face red as tomato due to the compliment.

-X-X-

Halloween Night, 8:00 PM

"I hope you enjoyed the delicious feast, your bellies are full and you all want to be in the comfort of your soft and warm bed but there is one thing that needs to be taken care of." He waved his hand towards the students and the fires around the great hall dimmed suddenly. Now the only major light was coming from the Goblet of Fire, which was kept in the middle of the great hall on a stone carved high pedestal, A glowing circle around the pedestal which was the 'age line' drawn by Dumbledore. Dumbledore stepped down from the platform and moved towards the pedestal, he cancelled the age line with a flick of his wand and stepped closer to the Goblet. Every eye in the great hall was fixed on Dumbledore who was now touching the Goblet with his right hand and mumbling something, probably a spell. The moment Dumbledore moved his hand away from the Goblet, it flashed red and a piece of parchment shot out of the flames. He grabbed the piece without any effort.

"The champion from Beauxbatons Academy is Miss Fleur Delacour!" The great hall erupted in claps, whistles and voice of excitement. The beautiful French half-Veela rose from her place at the Ravenclaw table and stepped towards Dumbledore who congratulated her and directed towards the anteroom behind the teachers' table. He repeated the same action again once the great hall had calmed down a bit.

"The champion from the Durmstrang Institute is Victor Krum!" The Quidditch star rose from the Slytherin table and followed the French champion. Krum was a tall boy with a muscular body and hazel eyes. He had a near blank face, probably due to his experience with handling his emotions in a nervous situation.

"The champion of Ilvermorny is Miss Zoe Walker!" A tall girl with athletic build and short wavy burgundy hairs rose from the Gryffindor table and followed the Bulgarian seeker.

"The champion from Mahoutokoro is Kenechi Ohara!" An average tall boy with dark brown eyes and a hair bun at the back of his head, rose from his place at the Hufflepuff table, gave a curt bow to the Hogwarts headmaster and followed the other champions to the anteroom.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!" Every Hogwarts student in the great hall was on his feet applauding the host champion. Cedric rose from his place at the Hufflepuff table, gave a hug to one of his friends and walked towards Dumbledore. He shook his hands before Dumbledore motioned him to get to the anteroom.

"Excellent, we finally have our champions. The five of the best from their respective school but in the end, there will only be one. One who will conquer all the challenges, one who will win the ultimate prize, _'Eternal Glory'._ " As he pointed towards his podium, a crystal trophy came into view at the top of the podium. The trophy looked like a phoenix emerging from whirlpool of flames with its open beak pointing towards the sky and its wings half spread. The pale blue hue of the crystal giving it the feel of being enchanted. A blue light pulsating where the heart of the phoenix should be.

Before Dumbledore could continue, the great hall was again flooded with the red light of a flash just for a moment before a piece of parchment shot out of those flames and floated down towards the outstretched palm of Dumbledore. The shocked expression on Dumbledore's face and the silence that stretched for quite a few seconds gave everyone a chill.

"Harry Potter! HARRY POTTER!" Dumbledore shouted at the top of his voice.

Harry was stunned, his body frozen, breath stuck in his lungs, his throat went dry, his mind went numb, in short, every reaction to shock. Hermione, who occupied the seat next to him, pulled him up and pushed him towards the headmaster while whispering in his ear that all will be well. Harry started walking towards the headmaster mechanically, unaware of his actions, his eyes fixed at the parchment Dumbledore held in his hand.

As he reached the old wizard, he was handed the slip of parchment. His eyes went wide when he saw his name on the parchment in his own handwriting, he paled at that instant. There were murmurs and whispers around him throughout the great hall. He started walking towards the anteroom.

"He is a cheat", "He is a fraud", "The glory seeking git". The remarks were thrown at him like stones, his mind, unable to process anything at the moment, ignored the angry shouts. He kept walking towards the anteroom where champions entered.

The door led to a corridor which opened into the circular stairs that lead to a big circular room with doors on three sides except the one where the stairs landed. The moment he stepped into the room, the French witch stepped forward and asked him in heavily accented English, "Boy, 'ave we been called up?"

Before he could answer, five headmasters and headmistresses along with Crouch, Snape, Moody and McGonagall entered the room with Dumbledore in lead. He walked towards Harry and grabbed his shoulders with both his hand.

"Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked in a calm but commanding voice. Unable to answer, Harry just violently shook his head in the universal sign of 'No'.

"Did you ask any older student for the help?" Harry repeated his action.

"He is definitely lying Dumbledore", The headmaster of Mahoutokoro shouted.

"He is not lying professor Kami, Goblet of Fire is a very powerful magical artifact, only a very strong ' _Confundus Charm'_ would have work which is beyond the capability of any fourth-year student." Moody snarled in his characteristic manner.

"Looks like you are quite knowledgeable in this subject, Mad-eye." Karkaroff replied with a growl.

"It was my job to be familiar with Dar arts if you don't remember Igor." Moody replied acidly.

"What is happening?" the Japanese champion asked above all the commotion. His headmaster explained the situation to him in rapid-fire Japanese. His reaction could give a goldfish run for its money.

"But 'e iz juzt a leetle boy!" Fleur commented. The comment would have hurt Harry's pride but at the moment his mind was processing everything sluggishly.

Dumbledore turned towards the organizers, namely Crouch and Bagman, "what should we do, Barty?"

"The contract with the Goblet of Fire is legal and binding. There is no going back now. Unfortunately, the tournament will now have six champions instead of five."

Harry lost all the balance at that answer and stumbled towards the nearest chair and fell into it with a plop. The night was getting worse by the minute, Crouch's words just sealed his fate.

"We should have been told before coming here that we are allowed two champions. We would have brought higher number eligible students." Madame Maxime said to Bagman in an accusatory tone.

"I assure you Madame that this situation is exceptionally rare." Lugo Bagman replied, his cheery tone all but lost.

"I think we should send the students back to their rooms and discuss this in a more private setting." Madam Picquery suggested.

"I believe you are right Madam Picquery. All of you, go back to your sleeping quarters." As the champions started walking towards the staircase, he turned towards the remaining people assembled there. "We should go to my office and discuss this situation."

-X-X-

Harry walked back to the Gryffindor tower absentmindedly, the events of the night still playing on a loop in his head. The last thing he remembered doing with himself being in control was applauding Cedric Diggory for being the Hogwarts champion. The thought hasn't yet entered his mind that almost everyone in the school would stand against him. He gave the password to the Fat Lady without looking up from the floor.

The next moment, his vision was clouded wish bushy brown hair. Hermione had lunged towards him and embraced him in a tight hug the moment he entered the common room. She was whispering in his ear with her gentlest voice that she knew he didn't do anything and they will find a way to get him out of it.

"Hermione, there is no way out of it." Harry said, the only feeling his voice contained was the feeling of hopelessness. He had surrendered to his fate and knew that there was nothing they could do that will make it better. He broke the embrace to look Hermione in the eye, her eyes reflecting the hopelessness he felt but there was something more. There was a hint of desperation to help her best friend get out of this mess.

Before they could say anything more, the third wheel of the trio spoke. "Mate, you could have told me how you did it. I could have done it too but no, you had to hog all the attention for yourself."

Harry's pale face started to get a red colour, his expression changed to that of anger and betrayal. "I didn't do it Ron. I have no idea how it happened. It's just happened, ok." His pitch rising with every word he spoke. His anger was coming to the front of his mind, all the tension and worry about the tournament taking the backseat.

"Yeah, right. Anyway, congratulations mate." Ron replied acidly and walked towards the stairs of the dormitory without even looking towards his friend. Every Gryffindor member was watching this drama unfold in front of their eyes. Everyone was looking towards him like he was made of Hippogriff dung.

Harry just walked towards the couch in front of the fireplace and dropped on it. Hermione set close to where his head was and gently placed it on her lap. She started to slowly caress his hair, her fingers moving through his hair. Harry cooled down a bit.

"God, I wish my parents were here right now. They would have got me out of it." Harry whispered like he was talking to himself. His voice breaking at the end of that sentence. He closed his eyes and rolled to snuggle into Hermione's stomach. Hermione continued her ministrations, it had the effect of relaxing Harry enough for him to fall asleep.

 _"Why it always has to be Harry"_ , she thought to herself. Her mind was in overdrive, trying to think of something which could be pursued to get Harry out of this stupid tournament. All her line of thoughts concluding in a dead-end. Around midnight, Harry stirred and woke up, he was still lying on the couch with his head in Hermione's lap. He moved away from her to sit on the couch and jerked her shoulder to wake her up. "Hermione, you need to go to bed, its already midnight." He said checking the clock present at the fireplace mantel.

Hermione woke up with a start and after wishing him good night, she left for her dormitory. She didn't want to leave Harry alone to his musing but relented when he pushed. Harry wasn't certain that he wanted to go his dorm, he had seen the expression on the faces of his housemates when he returned from the great hall.

He walked towards his bed with heavy steps, he pulled the curtains around his four-poster, cast privacy and notice-me-not charms and fell asleep.

-X-X-

"Albus, you can't be serious about it. He is a kid, not a lamb for a bait." Minerva spoke, her disbelief resonating in her voice.

"You have heard what Barty said, Minerva." Albus replied flatly, too engrossed in the memory playing in the pensieve.

"I hear what he said and frankly, I don't care. Please tell me the truth Albus, since when you started caring about the opinion of the ministry."

"I don't want to talk about it, Minerva. Alastor, please keep a close eye on Harry and please be discreet. I don't want him to become more afraid than he is right now."

"Aye, Albus." Moody replied and left Dumbledore's office with a curt nod towards the present occupants.

Dumbledore was lost in his thoughts, the only memory repeating in the pensieve was that of Harry's name shooting up and the parchment landing in his hand. He could not shake-off the feeling that something was amiss and something sinister was about to happen.

He was old, too old now to care about old age. He knew the world around him like the back of his hand. But now he was concerned that the grip he had on almost every major happening in his world was slowly slipping away. He felt like after a long life he was losing control over it. He had no clue to work on, to investigate the plot behind the sixth champion. He was called the most powerful wizard alive but at the moment, he felt utterly powerless to change anything. He had to know, wrong, he needed to know everything. That's what Dumbledore did all his life, that was his drive, insatiable thirst of knowledge, not the information available in the books but the knowledge of his surroundings, knowledge of the world in his times. There was only one option available to him right now, the tournament must continue.

-X-X-

The next week was the worst of Harry's stay in castle. Whenever he passed someone, he could hear them whisper, their snide remarks, the unveiled jibes. He could feel their constant stares on his back. He once again was the outcast for the normal society. The only silver lining in this ordeal was that he had someone he can trust and had their unconditional support.

The day after the announcement of the champions, Harry went to McGonagall to ask for her permission to use an empty classroom for practicing. Hermione had explained him this morning that he should start practicing spells to help him through the tournaments. Hermione had told him that she would help him throughout with learning and practicing.

"Professor, I wanted your permission for something."

"Yes Potter?" McGonagall was quite intrigued that he had asked for her help and she wasn't going to disappoint him.

"I wanted your permission to use an empty classroom."

"And may I ask, why you need an empty classroom?"

"Just to practice spells, I just want to be prepared for the tournament."

"You could use the gymnasium."

"There is a gymnasium in the castle?" Clearly surprised with this revelation.

"Of course, there is. Did you think that we are not concerned about your physical wellbeing?"

"Sorry professor but I was unaware about it."

"It's below the Quidditch pitch, entrance to the gymnasium is through the teachers' stand. Password for it is _'strength'_. Just make sure you return before the curfew."

"Thanks, professor."

"And Potter!" She called as he was leaving her office, he turned to look at her.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"I appreciate your support professor." He left with a final smile. He needed to tell this piece of news to Hermione, as soon as possible.

After dinner that evening the duo went to the Quidditch pitch. As they were walking towards the pitch, both were going over the happenings of that day. They had initially thought that Ron would come around when his anger had subsided but as they sat for breakfast, the saw how Ron was trying to avoid them. Whenever they crossed each other during and after classes, he would just whip his eyes away and change the direction.

Ron's reaction last night had left Harry angry but that anger was nothing compared to what Harry was feeling after the continuous attempts by him throughout the day to avoid Harry and Hermione. Harry was positively enraged with Ron's behaviour.

As the duo reached the entered in the teachers' stand, they came across a plain black wooden door across from them. When they gave the password, it opened outwards, revealing a dark staircase going downwards. They moment they stepped on the first stair, the torches along the stairway flickered to life. When they got to the landing, Hermione estimated that are at the very least fifteen feet below the pitch, if number of stairs was any clue.

The gymnasium was approximately as big as the Quidditch pitch. It was divided into two sections, the first half was full with exercise equipment and contraptions. Harry's jaw dropped to the ground as he had never imagined that the gymnasium would be that well equipped. All the walls were covered with mirrors, giving it a more professional look. The mirror started to lose the reflection at the bottom, most probably due to age.

As they crossed the equipment area, they stepped into the workout area. It was too large with one side lined up with target dummies and contraptions to move them. On the other side was a duelling platform which, Harry remembered, was used during the duelling club in his second year. The walls here were covered with soft walls and cushions. There was a thick mat spread throughout the floor. Harry was astonished that he had been unaware of this place for more than three years, now he could not wait to use it.

The duo got into a fixed routine in the following weeks, they would wake up early and go for a run followed by half an hour of work out in the gym. They would return to the Gryffindor tower and after a shower they would leave for the great hall to get their breakfast. After their scheduled classes, they would grab an early dinner which would allow them four more than three free hours before curfew for their practice. They would go for a stroll around the lake for a few minutes of sit under an old oak tree, which was Hermione's favourite place to lounge on the Hogwarts ground. They would return to the common room and would work on their school work or assignments. Occasionally, Harry had the dreams that he was having at the Burrow, which left him soaked in cold sweat and a headache which lasted usually a whole day, now it was just an irritating occurrence.

It was November sixth, just after his transfiguration class was over, a second year Ravenclaw came running to him and shyly told him that he is expected in the classroom next to Flitwick's office in the Ravenclaw tower. Harry told Hermione that he would meet her in the great hall afterwards and went to the requested classroom.

When he reached the classroom, he was welcomed in by a very excited Ludo Bagman who was in wearing his ridiculous old team cloak of Wimbourne Wasps.

"Here is our youngest champion, now we can begin the wand weighing ceremony." He said to one in general while shaking his hand enthusiastically. Harry saw that all the champions were present in the room, sitting in chair along the right-side wall, everyone nervous as in uncertain what to expect from the ceremony. As Harry joined the other champions, he sat in the chair next to the Ilvermorny champion.

"We aren't formally introduced, Zoe Walker." The champion chimed and offered her hand. Her voice was sweet and had warmth, her eyes dark brown and deep, mesmerizing. She was a few inches taller than he was, her short burgundy hairs nicely framing her oval shaped face.

"Err, no, I'm Harry Potter." Harry answered with a bit hesitation, unsure of what the person is thinking about him or how she will be judging him.

"Nice to meet you champ. I am a bit intrigued about your selection."

"Believe me, me too." Harry replied flatly, still unable to get a read on this Zoe person.

Their conversation was interrupted by the door opening, the five headmasters entered the room followed by Ollivander.

"Good morning champions, As everyone is present so let's began the Wand Weighing Ceremony. The ceremony is to make sure that your wands are fully functional, they will be the most important tools in the tasks to come." Dumbledore announced as he took the centre of the assembly, Ollivander standing close by.

"Let's begin with Miss Delacour."

Fleur stepped forward, drew the wand from her uniform and handed it to the wandmaker for inspection. He held the wand between his fingers, twirled it between his fingers, knocked on it twice.

"Rose wood, nine and a half inches, slightly springy, excellent condition. What is the core Miss?" Ollivader asked in his characteristically creepy manner, returning the wand back to the witch.

"Veela hair, from my grandmozzer." Fleur replied with a bit of irritation.

"Now Mr. Krum, please step forward." Dumbledore called in his grandfatherly voice. He stepped forward and drew his wand from his right sleeve and handed it to the wandmaker.

"Hornbeam, ten and a quarte inches, dragon heartstring core, quite rigid. A fine creation of Gregorovitch, if I am not mistaken." Krum just nodded in response, took his wand back and sat back in his previous chair.

"Mr. Ohara, your wand please." Dumbledore asked the Japanese champion to handover the wand for inspection. He drew a curled and twisted wand from the holster hanging at his left hip and handed it to Ollivander.

"Akamatsu wood, ten inches, Kappa heartstring, brittle. Quite fascinating, haven't seen a wand with this wood in years." Ollivander said, handing back the wand to the wielder.

"Miss Walker, your turn." Zoe stepped forward and drew out her wand from the inside of her uniform blazer.

"Hmm, Cherry, Wampus tail hair, nice and a quarter inches, supple." He handed back the wand to Zoe.

"Mr. Diggory, step forward."

"Ashwood, twelve and a quarter inches, unicorn hair, solid." He inspected the wand and returned it the next moment.

Now it was Harry's turn. Before he was called, he drew out the wand and tried to clean it with the inside of his school robes.

"Ah, Mister Potter, it seems like just yesterday when you came to get your wand. May I?" Ollivander asked with an outstretched palm. Harry handed his wand to the old wandmaker.

"Holly, eleven inches, phoenix feather, pliant. It's in good condition but wand polish may remove the scratches on the surface." Harry nodded, a bit embarrassed by the suggestion.

"That concludes the ceremony but I would request the champions to stay back for a few minutes for a few group photographs. Daily prophet has requested interviews with the champions, they have promised that it won't be a trouble." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly tone, his eyes twinkling.

As the headmasters and Mr. Bagman stepped out of the room, a blonde woman in painfully bright green dress robes with red horn-rimmed glasses entered the room followed by a photographer in baggy clothes.

"My name is Rita Skeeter and I work for Daily Prophet, of course you all already know that. My readers want to know the real stories of the champions and their lives and I'm here to grant their wish. But first take a few photographs." It took fifteen minutes for the photography session to finish, it felt like all the permutations and combinations were used to take photographs. Harry was moved around the room like a test subject.

"So let's begin with the interviews already. Whom should we start with?" She said, looking over every champion while taping her chin with her finger with a sickening pink nail polish.

"This one would work." She held Harry's hand and dragged him to the small office behind the teacher's desk. The office just had one window, teacher's chair with its back towards the window. A table present in the middle of the small office and two chair placed on the other side of the table. Harry was pushed in one of the chairs and the next chair was occupied by the reporter who turned both the chairs with the flick of her wand so that they faced each other. She opened her purse and an acid green quill came out of it followed by a parchment pad.

"So, tell me Harry, how does it feel to be the youngest champion at the age of thirteen…."

"Fourteen."

"Participating in a tournament where all your opponents are not only older than you but way beyond your level of magical education." The green quill moving frantically over the parchment, making a scratching noise.

"Err, Ah…. To be frank, I haven't thought about it yet."

"What do you think, how your parents would have felt, proud or concerned that their son is a part of this tournament?"

"I have no idea, I haven't met my parents in a long time." Harry answered sarcastically, he was getting irritated with this reporter.

"Was it the trauma of your childhood that made you enter the tournament, to get the attention you didn't have growing up?"

"Can't you see the pain of my past in my eyes." Harry rose from his chair and left the room, slamming the door shut in his wake.

A/N: Please review. If you have any questions, you can ask in the review or PM me.


	6. B1: Chapter 6 - The Extra Champion

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Some OCs will have important roles to play and may be present in the future years. In this chapter, I have taken the liberty to use some of the articles of Prophet directly from the book, there will be some changes in them but the gist of them remains the same. Please Review.

Chapter Six: The Extra Champion

"That crazy woman, who does she think she is?" Hermione was enraged and the reason was the article in the Daily Prophet. It was the day after the wand weighing ceremony, Harry and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table for the breakfast when the post-owl arrived. Hermione opened the newspaper the moment owl delivered it. As she started reading it, her eyebrows shot up to be hidden by her hair.

"What happened?" harry asked her, in response she just passed him the newspaper. And there it was, the reason behind the bookworm's anger.

 ** _The Extra Champion_**

 _A sneak peek into the life of The-Boy-Who-Lived_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Harry Potter, aged thirteen is the youngest champion in the history of the tournament. After many unsuccessful efforts, your favourite reporter, Me, finally got the opportunity to interview the young tragic hero of our world._

 _Q: "Harry, what keeps you going, even after losing your parents?"_

 _"I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now."_

 _Q: "Do you miss them?"_

 _"Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it."_

 _Q: "Are you afraid about the tournament?"_

 _"I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me."_

 _Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend and fellow Gryffindor, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born witch who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school. Another close friend, on the condition of anonymity, said that Harry is difficult to befriend and his behaviour is cold towards majority of his fellow students. We hope that this behaviour is just his shy nature and not the result of a boosted ego._

Hogwarts did not take the article lightly, students were already against Harry for supposed cheating, Hufflepuff felt that Harry was stealing the glory, which rarely came towards them, from Cedric. Syltherins hated him because no major reason except the house rivalry and it did not help that Malfoy was putting immense effort to make Harry's life hell. Ravenclaws weren't as openly hostile as the other two houses but they were cold towards him and kept their distance.

Hermione had to answer multiple inquiries from the female population of Hogwarts about her alleged relationship with Harry Potter, she was trying her best to tell them that they were 'just best friends'. When the number of such inquiries exceeded beyond her liking, she just outright refused to talk. Nobody wanted to ask these questions to Harry directly and he was grateful for that. After a while, the duo decided to ignore the rumours and rumourmongers.

The biggest blow and the one that hurt the most was the cold shoulder he was getting from his housemates. Ron had spoken against Harry and was doing his best to avoid him, he had made close friends with Dean and Seamus in the meantime. The twins were a peculiar case, they weren't hostile or hateful and they didn't care if he put his name in the goblet. Whenever they came across Harry, they would just joke about him being the youngest champion. Harry wasn't angry with their antics but he had started to get irritated by it. The hero-worship he endured from Ginny and Colin was now on a different level, behind the closed doors they were celebrating his selection and rooting for his victory but in front of everyone, they were doing their best to ignore Harry's existence and by association ignoring Hermione.

Around ten days before the first task, Harry was enjoying his breakfast at the house table along with Hermione and Neville who was now ostracised by their housemates, especially Ron, for voicing his opinion that it is possible that Harry did not want to compete in the tournament. It's unnecessary to point out that it didn't go well for him with the remaining Gryffindors. Harry received a small note, delivered by a great grey owl. Both Harry and Hermione were intrigued as they couldn't recognize to whom this owl belonged. Harry snatched the note, gave a piece of bacon to the owl and opened the letter, Hermione was reading it over his shoulder.

 _Harry,_

 _Come at noon this Saturday, to the place where we met last time in the presence of Wormtail. Bring your father's gift and marauder's creation. Use the passage beneath the roots._

 _Padfoot_

 _P.S.: Burn the note. Owl is a gift for Hermione._

Hermione took the note from Harry, place it in her empty breakfast plate and burned it with an ' _Incendio'._

"It's beautiful, isn't it Harry? What should we name it?" Hermione asked in an excited voice while stroking the plumage of the bird. It looked like the bird was enjoying the attention, it closed the eyes in delight.

"It's your owl Hermione, you decide what you want to name it."

"Hmm…. I think I should name it Mercury." Hermione answered, biting her bottom lip in concentration.

"Why Mercury?" Harry asked, confused about the reason behind the name.

"Mercury was the messenger of Gods in Roman mythology, plus his colour resembles that of mercury planet." Hermione gave another piece of bacon and the bird left, most probably to the Owlery.

"Now, we seriously need to go to Hogsmeade, I need to get some stuff for my owl."

They did not have time to dwell further as they had to their lectures in a few minutes. If they had any hope for a brief respite, they were truly mistaken. In the afternoon class of Care of Magical Creature, an uninvited horrible creature was present, conversing with the snakes in the emerald and silver robes. The creature was none other than Rita Skeeter.

"It's not good." Harry whispered to Hermione so no one can eavesdrop. Once she had spoken to the Slytherins, she started asking questions to Hagrid and a few questions to other students. Towards the end of the class, she came towards Harry and asked him just one question.

"Harry, how do you feel about this class and the teacher."

"He is a kind-hearted person and he knows more about magical creatures than you know about journalism." Harry snapped.

Rita left the afterwards with her lips forming a smirk. At the end of the class, Hagrid asked Harry to stay behind. He asked Hermione to go the castle and promised to meet her at the dinner.

"Harry, come to me hut jus' afta curfew. Its impo'tant and bring yeh' cloak."

Harry just nodded and left Hagrid to join Hermione and probably Neville at the dinner. His mind still processing why Hagrid would ask him to come and meet him after the curfew.

-X-X-

Harry was waiting in the common room for the curfew time to approach. As the clock struck ten, Harry went to the dorm, opened his trunk to retrieve his cloak and the map. He wrapped the cloak around himself to make himself invisible and walked out of the common room unnoticed. Once he was in the corridor, he activated the map to find the safest route to Hagrid's hut, making sure that he does not come across professors and prefects. It took him fifteen minutes and changing the route a couple of times to get to the gamekeeper's hut unnoticed.

Hagrid was waiting for Harry outside his hut with his dog Fang. As Harry came close to Hagrid, he whispered that he is here, Hagrid replied similarly and asked Harry to follow him. Hagrid raised his left arm which was holding a lantern to lighten the path, he started walking towards the forbidden forest. "Stay quiet and stay close, Harry." Harry was not going to be do otherwise anyway.

After five minutes of walking, they heard a loud roar which was immediately followed by someone calling Hagrid. A minute later, he could see the tall form of Olympe Maxime walking towards them, she was in a dark purple robe with dark grey fur at the collar. In the dark, she looked like a hideous walking tree.

"I thought you won't come!" Hagrid's voice was filled with unveiled excitement.

" 'ow could I not, 'Agrid. You zaid eet wass impo'tant." Madame Maxime said in her overly accented voice.

"I've got to show yeh somethin'." Hagrid said while escorting her deeper in the forest.

Now they could hear the roars loud and clear which were earlier muffled by the trees, there were multiple sources of the roars. As they walked ahead they could now clearly hear the rattling of chains, banging of metal on metal. They could see that there was light and fire which was somewhat blocked by the dense forest. After a few moments, they arrived at the edge of the clearing and now Harry could see the reason of all the chaos as clear as sun. The clearing was at least four times the size of the Quidditch pitch. Madame Maxime walked a few more yards to enjoy the view but Harry had quite the opposite reaction to it. All colour drained from his face, his face as pale as a ghost, fear had started to take a hold of his heart. He could not believe the scene playing in front of him, he was shocked. It was good that Madame Maxime had walked ahead and his voice could not be heard in all the chaos.

"DRAGONS! We have to fight Dragons! That's the first task! You are kidding, right?" Harry could not hold it in any longer. There were six fully grown adult dragons, each larger than thirty feet. Ten to twelve dragon tamers were trying to keep each dragon under control. The dragons were in metallic enclosures, as big as a classroom. Harry could see that they had turned many tree around them into ash, the stumps present were evidence enough.

"Be quiet Harry, keep the cloak on. Yeh are takin' it better than Ron. The poor boy fainted when he saw the horntail roar." Hagrid said pointing towards an enraged black-brown dragon with big scales on his body. It was a horrific sight, bronze coloured spikes protruding all over his tail and back, his tail ending in a big conical spike. Its head as big as a cow with bronze coloured horns adorning his head, his yellow eyes with cat like vertical pupils.

"I have to admit that Horntail is a right nasty piece of work."

"Ron was here?" Harry asked, unsure how to react at the news that Ron knew about it but said nothing.

"Ron came to meet Charlie, he is one of the tamers. Didn't he tell you that?" Hagrid asked with a surprised tone.

"No, he said nothing." He answered flatly, his mind trying to work out if the Harry-Ron friendship was now beyond repairing.

-X-X-

If Harry thought that the last night was awful and nothing could surpass that, he had another thing coming. After his return to the common room around midnight, he had explained the happenings to Hermione who had waited for him to return in the common room with a book open in her lap. He expression reflected that of Harry earlier that night. She was befuddled that how someone could ask students to fight adult dragons. She had a few days to think about it.

Harry had just sat to have his breakfast when the post-owl arrived with a delivery of Daily Prophet for Hermione. Her shriek was indication enough that something was seriously wrong, his guess was very close. He scooted closer to her to read the Prophet over her shoulder, what he read blew his mind.

 ** _DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE_**

 _Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of Gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates. An alarming large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening." "I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything." Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however._

 _In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts", highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions. "I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject. As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not, as he has always pretended, a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror. While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature. In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power, thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of this unpleasant truth about his large friend, but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with half-giants._

At the moment, Harry was unable to wrap his mind around the fact and process everything written in the paper. He needed to see Hagrid right now. All his hunger now forgotten and his breakfast left untouched, he rose from his seat and started towards the entrance of the castle, Hermione following a step behind. In all this conundrum, they didn't see the glee on the faces of Draco Malfoy and his cronies. They also failed to see them pass something along and across the house tables.

As they stepped closer to Hagrid's hut, Harry started to form the sentences he needed to get to Hagrid. He wanted to know the truth behind every accusation and wanted to give him every support he need, that's what friends do for each other. He would support Hagrid every possible way to help him get through this mess.

"Hagrid! Open the door." Harry shouted, banging his fist on the closed door of the hut.

"Open the door or I will break it." Hermione threatened, there was no response. They keep knocking for five minutes before deciding that it was futile right now and they should return sometime later.

Once they came to realize that they can't do anything worthwhile regarding the article, Harry had another thing on his mind. He had explained the situation to Hermione last night that the other champions would probably know what the first task is except for Cedric. Harry was well aware that Dumbledore would not help Harry and Cedric during the preparation of the task and most certainly won't give them hints to help them. He had planned to tell Cedric what the first task is.

The breakfast time was over and they had to get to their first class of the day so they ran towards the class. Harry decided that he would inform Cedric about the task during lunch.

After his second class of the morning was over, he started walking towards the great hall with Hermione in tow. They were shocked as they got closer to the great hall. Most of the students they came across were sporting badges which were quite insulting to Harry, to say the least. He noticed the badges and what was written on it, a few students helped him in doing so by shoving the badges right into his face.

'Cedric Rocks, Potter Sucks', 'Potter: The-Boy-Who-Lies', 'Youngest Fraud in a Century', 'The Gryffindor Attention Seeker'.

After reading all this, his appetite was already lost, the only reason he was still going towards the great hall was to inform Cedric. Luckily, he was about to enter the hall when Harry called him. He saw that all his friends, who were accompanying him, wore the badges. For a fleeting second, Harry wanted to just walk away but his conscience would not allow it.

"Can I talk to you, in private?" Harry asked, avoiding the other bystanders.

On his affirmative response, both walked towards a broom cupboard under one of the stairways and out of the earshot of the present students.

"Dragons, that's the first task." Harry said, keeping his voice barely above a whisper so no one except Cedric could hear it.

"Are you sure?" Harry just nodded. "Ok, and I apologize for my friends…."

Harry cut him off midsentence. "I don't care", and walked away.

Harry started to walk back towards Hermione who was standing close to the entrance to the great hall when someone shouted from the stairway behind him.

"Hey scarhead, how did you like the badges? If you ask me, best two hundred galleons spent." Malfoy spoke with an evil smirk, his cronies laughing on the remark.

Harry tried to ignore him but the next sentence made his blood boil.

"For that dimwit half-human, I didn't even need to move my hands. The opportunity landed in my lap. Finally, that brute will be kicked out of the school."

Harry turned towards him with true anger in his eyes, "He is twice the man you can ever imagine to be." Harry replied, trying to keep his voice flat. He turned back and started walking towards Hermione. But before he reached her, Draco drew his wand from his robes and was in process to fire a curse towards him when Moody came out from a corner and fired a curse towards Malfoy, turning him into a white, furry ferret.

Moody was bouncing him with the flick of his wand, every student nearby turned to watch the Slytherin prince bouncing in the air in his complete ferrety glory, the entrance hall erupted in cheers, laughs and catcalls. It did not last long as Snape came running out of the great hall, his cloak billowing behind him, giving him the effect of a giant bat.

"What's the meaning of this?" Snape asked Moody in his characteristic flat voice, his eyes sending a angry glare towards him.

"Ask your snakes to keep their wands away. If they are so interested in a duel, attack from front like a man and not from behind. And if you can't get them in line, I would be too happy to do that for you." Moody scowled, everyone could see that Snape was seething with anger.

"He will serve detention for a week." Moody said, changing Malfoy back to his human form and started walking towards the great hall, his wand safely back in his robes.

"He had served the punishment, there will be no detention." Snape replied, anger rising in voice and demeanour.

"You want to argue about it?" Moody asked, drawing his wand from its place. Snape hesitated for a moment before drawing his wand. The entrance hall went deathly silent in the anticipation of a heated duel but before spells could start flying, McGonagall entered the entrance hall and asked everyone to go to the great hall in the most authoritative voice she could muster. Her lips thinning in a line, clearly indicating the fury she was experiencing.

"We will discuss this with Albus later." Minerva said, attempting to maintain her composure.

"Potter, stay back. I need to talk to you." Moody ordered. Harry told Hermione that he would see her later and walked towards the DADA professor. They both walked towards his office which was on fourth floor, it took a few minutes to reach his office.

In his office, Harry noticed that there were many mirrors and big glass pieces were positioned everywhere, the shelves contained many potion vials and ingredient containers, table tops were littered with rotating metallic objects which Harry had never seen before. Moody went to the back of the room and sat heavily in a leather chair with wheels at the base. He removed his metallic prosthetic leg and place it on a table. He asked Harry to take a seat across from him.

"I saw you were intrigued by my possessions, let me help you with those. Those glass objects and mirrors are called _foe glasses,_ you can see the faces of your enemy when they come closer. The rotating equipment are _sneakoscopes,_ very handy in alerting if danger is near." Harry just nodded, his eyes darting all around the room. There was a big black trunk on the right side of the room, continuously rattling like some wild beast was kept inside.

"What are you planning to do, Potter?" Moody asked in a concerned voice.

"Ehh….", 'What an eloquent answer, you idiot.' Harry scolded himself internally.

"You should put the concern of cheating to rest. Every headmaster and hence every champion except for Hogwarts once know about the task. And don't worry, I'm here to help." Both his eyes focussed on Harry.

"Sir, I haven't thought about it." His eyes towards the floor in embarrassment.

"What are you good at it, Potter? Use it."

"Well, I'm good on a broom but that's not allowed. Only a wand is allowed."

"Then use your wand."

-X-X-

Harry was excited beyond measure, he was going to meet his godfather today after almost five months since he discovered his innocence. He woke up early on a Saturday morning, hell he couldn't sleep properly last night. He didn't know that he was not the only one. He dressed up after taking a bath, picked up the invisibility cloak, Moody's defence book and Marauders' map from his trunk and went to the common room even before any of his dormmates woke up. He was a bit surprised to find Hermione, curled up on their favourite couch in front of the fireplace, reading a book. It looked like she was already prepared for the day.

"Good morning 'mione, you are up early." He walked towards her and occupied the empty space next to her on the couch.

"Good morning yourself, couldn't wait to see Padfoot." She gave him a hearty smile, excitement clear in her eyes.

"Let's go for the breakfast and then have a walk around the lake before the snow covers the grass."

They went to the great hall to have a quick breakfast and went to the black lake. In the last few weeks and the three years before this one, the trio, now the duo had made a spot for themselves. It was an old oak tree on the shore of the black lake, mostly secluded from the bustle of Hogwarts students, having a feel of serenity accompanying it. There was a big boulder on the right side of the tree with a near flat top, just on the shore of the lake. It was on the perfect spot to just dip your toes in the lake while sitting on the edge of the stone. They spent the next couple of hours sitting there, enjoying the final few hours of sunlight before the harsh winter of Scotland came knocking, the books open on their laps.

Harry was trying to find some spell that would help against the dragon, he was going through the book Moody had given to him. Hermione on the hand, was reading the book about dragons, not a spell book but just a text book about dragons. Harry was confused about it, 'Why would she read textbook instead of trying to find some good enough spells to fight the dragon?', he found asking himself this question.

Suddenly Hermione shouted and jumped onto Harry before he could react, her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. It took a few moments to identify the reason for this reaction from Hermione. A dangerous looking brown snake was sitting a foot or two away from where Hermione was previously sitting, it looked like the snake was analysing if he should attack or leave while continuously flicking its forked tongue.

Harry looked in the eyes of the snake and asked it to leave and threatened to finish it if he refused. The snake moved its head, unknowingly using _Parseltongue_ again, the motion looked like a nod and left both of them on their own.

"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't want to jump on you. That snake just came close and I was afraid and I'm sorry." She tightened her grip around his neck, a few tears falling on his neck and chest where Hermione had hidden her face. In response, Harry wrapped his arms around her back and started patting her hair. It took a few minutes for Hermione to regain her composure but before she could extract herself from Harry and sit on the ground, Ron, Dean and Seamus walked towards the spot, still deep in their discussion. The moment Ron saw the two of them sitting there, Hermione practically sitting in Harry's lap, his temper shot skywards.

"You TRAITOR!" Ron shouted, turned on his heels and left before Harry could respond. Dean and Seamus following a step behind him. Hermione lifted her head from its previous position on Harry's shoulder and turned towards the angry voices. All she saw was the retreating figure of the three fellow Gryffindor boys.

They didn't have much time to discuss as they had an appointment to keep, they rose from their spot and started walking towards the Whomping Willow. When they were a hundred yards or so away from the tree, Harry checked if anybody was looking towards them and wrapped the cloak around both of them. He drew his wand and levitated a stone towards the locking root of the Whomping Willow. As the stone fell on the know of roots, the tree went still and the duo walked towards the tunnel under the base of the trunk.

They both entered the tunnel and lightened their wands with _Lumos._ It took them more then fifteen minutes to reach to the Shrieking Shack through the narrow passageway. The sight waiting for him cheered Harry more than anything else. In the disintegrating bedroom of the Shack, where Harry first met Sirius, were sitting to last links to his parents, Sirius and Remus.

"SIRIUS!" Harry was jubilant, he raced ahead and jumped to hug envelope Sirius in a bear hug, as close to it as possible with the height difference between the two. Sirius was smiling and patting Harry's hair in a very protective, even fatherly, way. Harry tried to pour all his happiness at seeing him in the hug. Harry had happy tears in his eyes and Hermione could not stop hers, she fiercely wiped hers away. They broke the hug after more than a couple of minutes, greetings were shared and questions about wellbeing were asked and answered. Sirius looked much better and healthy, he was wearing a black wizard robe over maroon shirt and trousers. Remus was in a brown cloak, under which he wore an off white which had certainly seen better days and a khaki pants. A few minutes later, they came to the serious conversation.

"It isn't safe for you to come here Sirius, you can be caught." Harry asked, a bit solidly.

"Don't worry, Harry. Nobody is going to come looking in Shrieking Shack to find the most notorious mass murderer in last 20 years." Sirius replied with a mischievous smile and a wink.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked seriously.

"James's parents had a small hunting lodge near Loch Katrine in Scotland. They left it to me due to my…. my furry little problem. Now it's under _Fidelius_ so no one knows where we actually are." Remus replied in his characteristic soft but firm manner.

"Here, It's a dragonhide protective vest and wrist holster for your wand. Pure Ukrainian Ironbelly leather. Its resistant to majority of normal curses." Sirius said while handing Harry a big package wrapped in brown paper. He opened the package hastily to find a smooth metallic grey leather vest. It was quite stylish for a protective vest with its straps on the side and long sleeves. There was a pair of leather wrist holster. Harry muttered his thanks but asked the reason for the second.

"Well the second one is for your girlfriend pup." Sirius answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh, no no no, we're not together, I mean she is not my girlfriend." Harry blurted out quickly, Hermione just shook her head.

"Ohh" Sirius's smile faltered a bit but he composed himself quickly "Doesn't matter, a small gift Hermione for helping save my life."

Harry removed his jacket and wore the vest and holster. Hermione strapped the holster on her left arm.

"So, let's get down to business, Harry. Did you put your name in the Goblet?" Sirius asked. When he saw the hurt expression on Harry's face, he continued, "Don't take it to your heart pup, it was necessary to ask. Now tell me about your dreams."

Harry explained about the nightmares he had been having throughout the summer and the two months he has been in the castle. He drew an explicitly detailed picture of his dream. Both Sirius and Remus had that look in their eyes that said their minds were racing to get some meaning out of it, they had concern written all over their faces.

"It doesn't matter, they are just dreams." Harry tried to play down the seriousness.

"Yeah, they are just dreams." Remus said with mixed emotions of worry, confusion and deep lying longing.

"Everything was just a big nightmare." Sirius had his face buried in his palms.

"There are too many things happening at the moment Harry, one of the ministry workers, Bertha Jorkins is lost. She went to Albania but hasn't returned in four months." Remus said, in a dilemma of telling him about things or not.

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins. She was at Hogwarts when we were, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap." Sirius pointed out. "All the incidents in the summer, it's hard to believe them to be mere coincidences."

"Your dreams, Death Eaters at the World Cup, Disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, the competition being revived and your name coming out of the cup." Remus noted the incidents.

"Be careful, something sinister might be in the making. Don't trust everyone. And if anything out of ordinary happens, tell us and tell Dumbledore. We might be able to do something." Harry just nodded at Sirius's statement.

"Sirius, it would be better if we handle the more pressing issue first. We can't stay here long." Remus reminded Sirius.

"Do you have any idea about the first task Harry?"

"Dragons." Harry answered, his eyes fixed at the floorboard.

"What! That's outrageous. Has Dumbles got soft in head? How can he allow this?" Sirius started ranting which went on for a couple of minutes before his anger subsided.

"What are you planning to do?" Remus asked.

"Moody said that I should use my ability on a broom but only wand can be carried so he said use your wand, whatever that means."

Hermione, who was silent during all this, held Harry's hand in hers throughout the discussion, drawing small circles on the back of Harry's hand with her thumb, providing him silent support.

"Harry, you could summon your broom." Hermione answered, like telling a stupid child something very obvious.

"We don't know how to." Harry replied, a bit harshly.

"We can learn and practice and beside you might not need to do that." Harry's facial features showed his confusion which was clearly reflected on the faces of the friends of his father.

Hermione answered in her lecturing tone, "Harry, dragons are reptiles, they belong to serpent family. You can explain the situation and ask the dragon politely using _parseltongue_."

"For a minute, you sounded like Hagrid there, Hermione." Sirius started laughing, his contagious laughter now catching up with the other two males in the room. Moments later all except Hermione were laughing, she just huffed and folded her arms in front of her.

"Hermione, you truly are the brightest witch of your age." Remus said, with a look of pride on his features.

Hermione blushed, bowed her head forward to hide the blush and muttered thanks.

"Dragons are resistant to usual spells, the only weak spot is their eyes. It takes many dragon tamers to control a fully grown dragon. Out-flying it or as Hermione mentioned, politely asking might be the best options." Remus informed Harry.

They spoke for a few minutes about other inconsequential matters, tried to make some kind of strategy regarding the task. Remus and Sirius apparated back to wherever they were living, just before 3 PM. Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle under the cloak until the found an alcove where they removed the cloak and went back to the common room. Harry had to learn a summoning charm and that too, soon.

The last six days before the task were spend majorly in the gymnasium where Harry was trying to master the summoning charm. Hermione had already mastered it and was helping Harry do the same. Harry was having difficulty to use the charm on hidden or far away objects. Sometimes his aim was off, on the other times either he didn't put enough power into it or put too much power into it. One such time, his aim was off and he summoned Hermione from across the room, both falling to the ground in a heap as the result of the collision. Harry's behinds bruised by the fall but the embarrassment was the more difficult thing to handle. Hermione had fallen on top of him, their heads hitting together.

November 24, 1994

Finally, the day of reckoning was here. Harry woke up early and got ready, his dragonhide vest and wand holster in their place. His nerves were getting out of his hands, he never remembered having this issue during Quidditch matches, then again there was no dragon to face. He walked to the common room where Hermione was waiting on him to go to the great hall for breakfast. Harry could not each much due to his nerves, he thought he would throw up if he ate something. He ate an apple and had a goblet of pumpkin juice on incessant insistence from Hermione. The task was to start at half past nine, all students were asked to be in the stands by nice and the participants to be in the participants tent by quarte past nine. He was informed about it last night by McGonagall and was given a jersey in Gryffindor colours, to be worn for the first task. They had set up the arena on the edge of forbidden forest away from the castle and the planted vegetation. He bid Hermione goodbye around half past eight to go to the common room and get changed into the jersey. Half an hour Later he was in the champions tent, fifty yards or so away from the arena and the stand surrounding the arena. All the participants already present in the tent, he was given the number six, he walked inside the tent towards his assigned area, he nodded to Cedric on the way, who looked deathly pale. Champions area had a bad and a small table with a pitcher of water place onto it. Harry was walking one side of the tent to the other, worrying about the task at hand when he heard the muffled voice.

" _Pssssst_ …. Harry!"

A/N: I might not be able to update for two weeks, college work. Please be patient with me. Please Review.


	7. B1: Chapter 7 - The First Task

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Some authors put too much emphasis on writing long prose about a character's emotion and explain their feelings in great detail. I may not be following this trend. The most obvious reason being, I prefer stories which move fast (relatively) and where emotions and feelings are hinted by gestures, actions and dialogues rather than writing ten lines about how someone is feeling for a moment. Long prose about emotional state does not give very realistic feel about the story. Just my opinion.

Please review. Appreciation and Criticism are the only things I get out of it. It encourages to continue.

Chapter Seven: The First task

" _Pssssst_ …. Harry!"

Harry strained his ears and stepped closer to the fabric of the tent, he was standing close to the entry flap.

"Harry, is that you?", the whisper was there again. It sounded familiar, his mind taking its time to put the voice with the face. And suddenly his features brightened.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" He turned his back towards the wall of the tent, trying to keep his face straight and make sure that no one else overheard them.

"How are you doing? Are you nervous, Harry?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"I, uh…." Harry could not answer, his mind on the task to come.

"Everything will be alright, Harry. Stay focussed. You have fought a basilisk, now it's just a…."

"Dragon I have to fight." He cut her off but before he could say anything further, he was engulfed in a tight embrace by the bucktoothed bookworm. Harry's face covered in brown, bushy hairs. His arms involuntarily circled around the witch hanging from his neck. He could feel the warmth from a few tears falling on the side of his neck. Hermione moved her head and kissed him on the cheek then whispered in his right ear, "everything will be alright, Harry".

There was a flash and a click and what followed was one of the most hated voice in the duo's life, giving a stiff competition to a certain greasy haired potion master.

"Ah, the teenaged love, how sweet. If anything happens today to Harry, this photo will be on the front page." Rita Skeeter said in her sickly sweet but mischievous voice, paired with waggling eyebrows.

"You heartless, sick, vile woman." Hermione said in her angriest voice, her arms still coiled around Harry's neck and Harry's around her waist. Neither of them trying to separate from the other.

"Eet is non of yo' business 'ere. Thiz tent belongz to the chamiones and their friends." Victor Krum said, stepping towards the reporter from his previous position where he stood brooding.

"Really? You should tell me about it, may be in a personal interview." Rita said stepping closer to the Durmstrang champion. Her left hand resting on His right biceps, her attempt at flirting with the Quidditch star apparent even to Harry who was seething at the intrusion.

"I would prefer if you step out of the tent Ms. Skeeter. It would be best for you." The American champion said in a flat voice from the bed adjacent to Harry's, her wand twirling in her fingers, her eyes fixed at the canopy.

"Was that a threat to a reporter, Ms. Walker?"

"I was just stating the reality of the situation."

Before the confrontation could escalate, Dumbledore and Bagman stepped in, followed by the other headmasters.

"Gather around champions, Mr. Crouch is unable to attend and hence I would be explaining you the task." Ludo Bagman chimed in his characteristic, up-beat, jovial manner.

"What are you doing here, Ms. Skeeter?" Dumbledore asked in his authoritative manner, his eyes fixed on the witch in sunny-yellow cloak who was standing next to her photographer.

"Nothing Albus, I was….", she tried to answer but was unable to do so as Dumbledore cut her off abruptly.

"I distinctly remember telling you Rita, you are not allowed to be on the school grounds except on the day of tasks and you are never allowed in the champion's tent even then. Perhaps a ban from the castle and castle ground would make it abundantly clear." Dumbledore continued in his heavy and emotionless voice which was saved for those who were at odds with the ancient headmaster.

Rita turned on her heel and left the tent, her photographer in tow. Dumbledore moved around and stood just behind Harry, "I believe, you are to be seated at the stands Ms. Granger?"

"I, uh, I'm just leaving." She gave a peck on the cheek to Harry, muttered a best of luck in his ear and left the tent to join the students in the stands.

"Ok, so let's introduce you to the task." Bagman said, Cedric moved across the tent to come and stand close to Harry. Dumbledore put one hand on each of the champion's shoulder to show his support.

"Alright then." Bagman brought up the pouch he was hoding in his left hand for everyone to see. "let's start with the picks." He opened the string pouch, vapours coming out of it.

"Mr. Diggory, you go first." He moved the pouch closer to the Hufflepuff boy. He put his hand in the pouch and withdrew it a moment later with something in his hand.

"Ah, a Chinese Fireball. Ms. Delacour, if you may…." He said while moving the pouch towards her. Harry was looking at the thing in Cedric's palm, it was a model or may be replica of the said dragon in fine detail, even the fire breathing part.

"A welsh Green." He said smiling towards the French champions who was looking at the model with a worried look.

"Mr. Krum!" He took a step closer to the Bulgarian seeker. "Swedish Short Snout, good one."

"Mr. Ohara!" Bagman said while taking a step towards the Japanese champion. "Romanian Longhorn, nice."

"Ms. Walker, your turn." She put her left hand in the pouch and extracted her own dragon model. "Peruvian Vipertooth. So, that leaves us to…."

"Horntail." Harry muttered, his expression that of hopelessness.

"I beg your pardon?" Bagman asked.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud." Harry replied, his eyes fixed at the pouch in Bagman's hand. Harry put his hand in the pouch, he closed his finger around the last model as his hand came in contact of a scaly surface. He extracted his hand from the pouch along with the tiny dragon model. He opened his fingers and there it was, sitting in the middle of his palm, the black-brown dragon, breathing out small flames.

"Hungarian Horntail." Bagman announced, his smile faltering for a second but he recovered quickly enough, before anyone noticed it.

"These represent the very real dragons you will be facing, each of which is given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple, 'collect the golden egg from the dragon's nest'. This you must do for each contains the clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. You will be evaluated based on your performance and timing. Any questions?" He said, looking each champion in the eye, when no questions came forward, he continued.

"Do not worry, in case of any injury, you will be taken to the first-aid booth, next to your tent where you will be treated by the best of St. Mungo's. In case you want to forfeit the task, shoot red sparks towards the sky and you shall be removed." He saw the fear in each and everyone's eyes.

"Very well then, Champions will follow the order given to you. We will start with Mr. Diggory. Mr. Diggory, step towards the arena when we call for you."

"Good luck to you, champions." With that, all the headmasters and Mr. Bagman left the champions to their musings. The champions drifted towards the arena marked for them. Harry just sat at the foot of his bed, his eyes fixed on his hands resting on his knees.

He could hear the excited chatter and the general buzz around the arena from the tent. A few moments late he heard the excited voice of Ludo Bagman coming from the microphone. He started the commentary with the explanation of the task, the order in which the champions will be coming to the arena for the task and the dragons each champion got for the task. A minute or so later, Harry heard the distinctive screech of a dragon. The hair on the back of his neck were standing, he had Goosebumps all over his arms under the protective vest he was wearing beneath the jersey with his name printed on the back in golden letters.

A few moments later, Cedric was called to the arena. Harry gave a nod when his Cedric turned to look towards him before leaving. Harry could see the fear and the determination in his eyes. Cedric squared his shoulders and attempted to gather his courage before stepping out of the tent towards the enclosure.

Now Harry's ears were glued to the commentary on the loudspeakers. He heard the applause Cedric received on his entry which was followed by the terrifying roar of the Chinese Fireball. He remembered the appearance of the dragon from the book Hermione was reading last week. 'The Lion Dragon', as it is nicknamed, is a scarlet, smooth scaled creature with a fringe of golden spikes around its snub-snouted face and extremely protuberant eyes, fringe of black hair running along its spine, golden moustaches protruding from either side of his snout. Harry was wishing to get this particular dragon as it's the only one who does not have wings strong enough to fly or big enough to support its weight, hence it would have been easier to defeat the dragon.

 _'Diggory is distracting the dragon with his exceptional transfiguration skills, he has turned two boulders into Rottweilers. The dragon lunges towards the dogs and in the meantime the champion has reached the nest and picked up the egg. Oh god, the dragon turned the dogs into vapours and jumped towards the champion and had him pinned. Diggory hits the dragon in the face with a levitated boulder, distracting him enough to get himself away from the dragon but now enough to be safe. He just dodged the fireball from mere inches but his left-hand side is singed badly. Cedric has jumped out of the enclosure and he completes the task'_

Harry was listening intently to the commentary of the task, his expressions and feelings changing along the commentary of the task. He breathed a sigh of relief as Cedric jumped out of the enclosure. He knew, Cedric would be taken to the tent adjacent to their own. Now all he had to do was to wait for his turn.

 _'Now, as the dragon tamers had finally escorted the dragon back to the forest, it's time for the score from the judges. Mr. Diggory scores 43 out of 50.'_ Harry heard the loud cheers and the deafening noise that followed the scoring which could clearly surpass the dragon's roar.

The next was Fleur. During her task, the announcement stop abruptly and did not resume for the next ten minutes. The next thing he heard was Fleur being thrown out of the enclosure, swatted with the foreleg of the dragon across her back and in the process, dropping the egg in the enclosure.

 _'Very unfortunate for the French champion, the judges are discussing if she would be allowed to have the egg or not. It looks like the judges has arrived on a decision. Ms. Delacour would be allowed to have the egg with a ten-point penalty. The score she received stands as, 30 out of 50.'_

After Fleur, Krum followed the path towards the enclosure. He had picked Swedish Short Snout which eerily looked like a hybrid of a crocodile, a bat, a rhinoceros and a bull. It had silvery blue scales, its head having two horns protruding from the top of its head and two horns protruding from the top side of the snout.

 _'Krum is moving around the enclosure with his seeker agility and dodging the flames. He is trying to hit the dragon in the eye with spells he is firing but all he is doing is enraging the dragon even more. He scored a lucky hit and the dragon is disoriented at the moment, stumbling backwords. There is the opening for the champion and he is making a go for it with a sprint. The dragon is recovering quickly, its yet to be clear if the champion can get to the egg before the dragon recovers.'_

There was a loud, ear-splitting screech which was followed by something cracking.

 _'Krum has fallen over the eggs and has broken the dragon eggs with his action. He is making a dash for the exit of the enclosure with the golden egg nestled in his left hand. Dragon has recovered and is now breathing the fire towards the Bulgarian seeker. He is doing his best to sidestep the flames and he has been successful in doing so till now, can he get out of here safe? YES, HE HAS._ '

 _'The dragon is in a horrible mood and it should be, its eggs have been crushed by the Bulgarian wizard. It has burned one of the dragon tamers to ashes but has been subdued now. Now let's ask the judges for the score. The judges have announced that Krum will be receiving a ten-point penalty due to the egg breaking part. The score he received is 38 out of 50. The score would have been the best ever if it was not for the penalty.'_

Harry was laughing as he imagined Krum being covered in the egg yolk. He would be looking like a slimy troll. Harry sobered quickly. A few moments later, the Japanese champion walked out of the tent towards the enclosure, leaving the American and English champion alone in the champion's tent. Before Harry could hear the announcement, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up in surprise to find dark brown eyes looking at him with concern.

"Nervous, champ?" Zoe asked, sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, a bit." Harry replied, this throat dry and his voice raspy.

"Me too. You know it's ok to be a little nervous." She said jovially in her sweet voice, Harry chuckled a bit. They sat in silence for the next five minutes before the score for the Japanese champion was announced as 32 out of 50.

"Harry, look at me." Zoe asked hastily, her voice laced with hesitation. Harry looked at her with confusion but before he could respond, the American champion leaned in and kissed him full on lips. He froze at the contact, his brain stopped working and he became stiff as rod. It was over too quickly for Harry, he was flabbergasted and could not respond either way.

"For good luck." She answered the unasked question in a mischievous tone and emphasized it with a wink. His eyes were fixed at Zoe with a dazed look. She stood up from the bed and started walking towards the exit. Harry's mind had stopped working, his mind playing the incident on a loop in his head. He was brought out of his daze by his name being announced by Mr. Bagman.

He stood up slowly from his bed, squared his shoulder, gathering his Gryffindor courage. The good luck he received from Zoe had kicked the fear out of the mind and in its place, he had a determination, the primal determination for survival. He started walking towards the enclosure with firm steps. He took a deep breath just outside the enclosure before stepping in the dragon's pit.

The pit was the size of the Quidditch pitch with the look a stone quarry of dark grey stone. The surrounding was filled with boulders of various sizes, making sprinting a near impossible task. The entrance of the enclosure was two or three feet above the base of the pit, on the similar height to that of the nest in the centre. The centre of the arena looked like a raised platform, in the centre of the platform were the eggs. On this raised platform, sat in its full glory, the black-brown Hungarian Horntail. The dragon sat coiled around the eggs, his wings partially covering the eggs from view. It looked like its wing covered half of the arena, the dragon had to be larger than 50 feet, giving tough competition to the basilisk in its length. Horntail's head was resting on the tip horn of its tail, its eyes closed, its breathing rough and noisy.

As Harry stepped down from the entrance, the dragon stirred as it heard the sound of movement. It turned its giant head to look at Harry with its yellow catlike eyes. It's a different thing to see the dragon being handled by a team of dragon tamers and it was a completely different experience to actually face the dragon with no one there to aid you. Harry's face paled as his eyes met those of the dragons. As if sensing Harry's fear, the dragon reared its head, bared its sharp fangs and spread its wings to the full extent in a bid to intimidate its prey. It seemed that the full span of its wings was blocking the majority of sunlight. Harry took the advantage of this moment and ran to take cover behind the nearest boulder. He turned in his place and shouted with all concentration and determination _'Accio Firebolt'._

He knew it would take a minute or two for the broom to get to him. He needed to stall the dragon. Harry had great reflexes and agility due to his seeker training and he was good at thinking at his feet, thanks to the trio's adventures since joining this school. He had the talent to make the judgement call in a split second. Even in the most brain-wreaking nervous scenarios, Harry's brain and in effect his body would not freeze in shock, he would let his instincts take over, that's how he had survived in the most life-threatening situations.

 _'Wait a minute',_ Harry shouted in parseltongue, in his bid to stall for time.

The dragon was shocked after hearing him speak in parseltongue as was evident from its reaction. Dragon lowered its head, tilting to a side and folding its wings.

 _'Human, you speak the tongue of serpents. Haven't seen one in decades. I would let you walk away for that.',_ the dragon answered in the same language. For the general spectators, all they could hear was the screech coming from the dragon and the hiss from the champion.

 _'Look, I don't want to fight you and you don't need to kill me. I just need the golden egg and then I will leave quietly.'_ Harry tried to reason with the beast.

 _'You ask for my egg! I would turn you into ashes'_ Harry saw the broom coming towards him but bouncing off some invisible barrier overhead. Harry was becoming impatient and the broom was floating fifty feet above him. He could sense that the dragon's patience is on the verge of spilling. He needed to do something quickly to survive this. His brain was on override to cook-up an idea that would somehow get him out of this without any life-threatening injuries. An idea suddenly popped into his head, inspired from another one-on-one he had with a serpent.

He checked where the dragons head was, closed his eyes and shouted, _'Lumos Maxima'._ The blinding light disoriented the dragon of a couple of seconds. In the meantime, Harry moved to another hiding position and levitated to boulders on either side of the dragon's head. The moment dragon's head stopped shaking, he fired two blasting curses towards the stones, each curse hitting one boulder and blasting it to pieces in mid-air. The shrapnel imbedding in the eyes of the making it blind for the moment. This also resulted in enraging the dragon and it started breathing fire in random directions. Harry moved closer to the entrance and shouted _'Accio Firebolt'_. This time the Firebolt zoomed in from the entrance towards him. Harry was unaware that his incantation had given the dragon his position. He had to jump on the broom to get away from the incoming jet of flames.

Finally, Harry had the backing of his element. He was on his broom and in the air, the dragon was nearly blind and now depended upon his hearing ability to identify Harry's position. He slid his wand in his holster as he knew that he won't be needing it hereafter in this clash. His movement in the air making enough noise for the Horntail to follow. A few abrupt changes of direction, a couple of dives and a successful _Wronski Feint_ in which the Horntail hit its snout on the ground, Harry had his right arm wrapped around the golden egg.

But now he had a major problem to handle, he was on the opposite side of the pitch from the entrance and the Horntail stood between him and the entrance. His spread wings completely blocking any chances to get to the entrance. The only option was to outmanoeuvre the Hungarian Horntail.

Harry squared his shoulder and face the dragon face-to-face, he had an idea but some might call it suicidal, some being everyone except him. He flew straight towards the dragon, shouting at the top of his voice. As the dragon reacted to it and took a leap from the ground, Harry dove towards the ground and tried to get to the entrance from under the hind legs of the dragon. For a moment, it looked like he was successful and suddenly the horntail directed a jet of flame towards him which he barely missed by swerving onto his left, his legs and the back end of the broom singed, but in that instance, he lost the control of the broom. In a bid to get the broom under control, he swerved in the opposite direction but hit the oncoming horned tail of the dragon. He was thrown away from his broom and for a moment, he thought that he was going to be burned alive. But the impact from the Horntail's tail had thrown him and the brown outwards from the entrance towards safety.

He fell to the ground, his left hand taking the brunt of the impact but his head hit the ground. A pain suddenly shot through his arm and the side of his head. The pain blinding him and after a moment or two, darkness was all there was around him.

-X-X-

Hermione was on the edge of her seat for the last hour and half since she had left Harry in the tent. As each champion fought their dragon, the feeling of dread and fear intensified in her heart. Fear for the wellbeing of a certain raven haired wizard. She was standing on the edge of the spectators' area the moment Harry had walked into the enclosure. She knew there was no way Harry could hear her through the protective dome headmaster Dumbledore had erected above the dragon's pit. Her eyes were fixed on the boy, standing in the pit, fighting a dragon which was ten times larger than him, a hundred times heavier and could breathe fire.

She was muttering encouragement under her breath, praying all the gods to keep him alive and in one piece. As he was thrown out of the pit by the dragon, Hermione was running blindly towards him, giving no care to the people around her, the only thing that was in her mind was 'she needs to get to Harry'. She ran down the stairs two at a time and jumped the last four. She was beside the healers levitating Harry towards the First-aid booth. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw his condition, his face was as pale as a ghost, his trousers singed from knee below, his left arm bent in a very unnatural manner. Her eyes were burning from the tears which were threatening to spill, she held Harry's right hand in hers at refused to leave when the healers asked. As they entered the First-aid booth, Harry was levitated towards a treatment table. With a tap of the healer's wand, his jersey was replaced by a patient's gown, his jersey and protective vest folded on the nearby table.

Healer's mended the broken bone in his left arm and covered it with thick white bandage. Then he was turned over and a salve was applied on his legs where parts of his skin was missing, a minute after the salve was applied the healers covered the parts with bandages. He had a bump on the side of his head which was treated next. It took fifteen minute before colour started to reappear on his face. These fifteen minutes were some of the longest and most excruciating minutes of her life. She could not hold her tears any longer, they were flowing non-stop down her cheeks and falling on her lap where she held Harry's right hand in both her hands.

A few minutes later, they were led towards the infirmary by madam Pomphrey who levitated Harry ahead of them. He was placed in the bed which he unfortunately occupied quite regularly.

"Ms. Granger, his left arm will be sore for a day or two. The skin on his feet will also take a couple of days to heal completely and it would be advisable for him to remain on the bed. He has got a concussion so he will need some time to regain consciousness and cognitive function. I will leave the potions and the details of dosage and timings. I hope you can see to that."

Hermione just nodded and sat on the chair on the right side of the bed, her hands holding Harry's right hand tightly. Her eyes fixed on his face, not leaving even for a moment. A few minutes later, Neville came to see Harry and took the seat opposite from her.

"How is he?" His voice barely audible.

"He will be fine in a couple of days." Hermione answered flatly, trying to keep tears away.

"I took the liberty to take his broom and clothes to the dorm. I hope you don't mind." He said while placing Harry's pyjamas on the side table and handing Harry's wand to Hermione.

"Thank you, Neville. You are a good friend, I know Harry would say so too." Hermione gave him a genuine smile. Neville left a few minutes later with just a wave to Hermione and without any more words.

Hermione was adamant that she won't be leaving his side till he regains consciousness. She refused to leave for meals and madam Pomphrey had to throw her out just before curfew. Hermione walked absentmindedly towards the Gryffindor tower, her legs directing her course, her eyes downcast. The moment she entered, a certain redheaded fellow fourth year stood in front of her.

"How is he?" Ron asked meekly.

"Why do you care? You could have come and seen him for yourself but a few games of chess and quidditch talk was more important." She replied angrily but the pitch of her voice remained the same.

"No, I…., Uh…., I mean…." Ron started stuttering, unable to answer.

"What?" Hermione asked, this time her voice rising above the normal level. Everyone present in the common room now watching the scene unfold.

"Everyone was doing the same, I didn't know I could…." Ron started to answer but Hermione cut him off midway through.

"Ronald Weasley, you insolent, jealous git. You were supposed to be his best mate. You should know he hates the attention. He needed you the most these last few weeks, he needed your support and what did you do? You foulmouthed about him, slandered him behind his back." Her anger was rising so was her voice, her face looked like a ripe tomato.

"I wasn't the only one, everyone was talking behind his back, they were making bets about him." Ron shouted back, his Weasley temper getting better of him.

"You lost his trust Ronald." She left the common room and walked towards the fourth-year boys' dormitory. She collected the Marauders' Map and Harry's invisibility cloak from Harry's trunk. The only person present in the dorm was Neville who was busy reading a heavy tome. He gave Hermione a small smile and a nod as she was walking back towards the common room. She brought a book from her room and waited in the corner of the common room for everyone to leave. An hour or so later, all the Gryffindor students had left for the comfort of their beds. She wrapped the cloak around her and activated the map. She sneaked out of the common room and reached the infirmary without any incident and an unlocking charm later she was inside the infirmary.

She deactivated the map and continued her vigil from the chair next to the bed, her head resting on right arm while her left hand drawing small circles on the back Harry's right hand. She noticed that madam Pomphrey had changed the patient's gown to Harry's pyjama. A few minutes later, Hermione drifted to sleep.

Hermione woke up with a start, Harry squeezed her left hand tightly. Hermione realized that his body was in the middle of a violent spasm, his cloths and body drenched in cold sweat. Hermione stood up from the chair and sat on the bed. Her left hand moving through his hair, her fingers gently massaging his scalp. In a minute or two, he was back to normal but Hermione continued her ministrations. She checked her watch, it was 2:00 AM. She needed to return to the dorm in a couple of hours and get changed, it was necessary to maintain the appearance that she was in her bed last night. She did not want any more rumours circulating around the school, and having the gossip queen as your dormmate made this possibility quite real. She knew that visitors were allowed from 7:30 in the morning to just before curfew. She didn't notice the eyes watching her from the matron's room or the eyes watching her from the window.

She was back in the infirmary after an early breakfast but late enough so that her dormmates could see her getting ready for the breakfast, they weren't suspicious as they knew that the bookworm was an early riser even on weekends and due to the task, there were no classes today.

She sat at the chair next to the bed which she occupied last night and took hold of Harry's hand. The serenity of the moment was broken when ran into the infirmary around lunch.

"Hermione, you need to see this, it just got delivered?" He shouted while waving the newspaper in front of Hermione. It looked like he ran all the way from the great hall to the infirmary, he was out of breath.

"Mr. Longbottom, it's not a playground. Keep your voice down and your steps small." The matron scolded him from her office at the end of the ward.

"Sorry, madam Pomphrey." He replied sheepishly while handing the newspaper to Hermione.

"Isn't it quite late for the prophet, they usually deliver around breakfast." Hermione asked in a very confused tone.

"Turn to page three." Neville said hastily. And there was the reason of his appearance in the infirmary.

 ** _TROUBLES IN HARRY POTTER'S PARADISE_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _It looks like all is not well in the love life of the young couple of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Miss Hermione Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian Bonbon Viktor Krum, they had been seen on a couple of occasions to share a table in Hogwarts' library. On the other hand, the young champion Harry Potter has been getting close to the American Champion, Zoe Walker. They had been seen sharing a private moment in a secluded part of the castle before the first task of the tournament. It is assumed that the display of affection was initiated by the seventeen years old American beauty._

 _Meanwhile, after the injuries to the Boy-Who-Lived in the first task, he was taken to the Hogwarts' infirmary in an unconscious state. Miss Granger was found sitting on his bed in the late hours of the night, the couple sharing a close moment. No party was available for comment._

 _The reporter would hope that it's just a hiccup in a happy relationship but at the moment it looks like the muggleborn witch is toying with the affection of the tragic young hero of the wizarding world who lost his parents at the age of one. It is known that the boy-wonder has very limited friends and Miss Granger is his only female companion in his school life. A dormmate and a student from her year, Miss Brown told the Prophet, 'Potter depends on her, he is like a lost child without her. She is quite bossy and controls him. He won't do anything to upset her.'_

 _It looks like Harry Potter has lost his heart to the wrong girl. We hope, he would make a better decision in the future in regards to his romantic life._

"That bitch!" Hermione slammed the newspaper on the bedside table. Her nose was flared and her face was flushed with anger. She wanted to tear that woman into pieces or throw her to the dragons.

"Language, Miss Granger. I would be forced to bar you from infirmary for the day if you can't keep your voice down." Pomphrey scolded the two Gryffindors.

"Hermione", Harry's voice came from the bed, barely audible. Harry had started to stir and started to blink slowly. Hermione again held his hand with both her hands. It looked like their loud voices had woken him up. He finally opened his eyes and turned his head towards Hermione.

"Hey", his voice raspy and barely above a whisper. His eyes could not betray the joy he was feeling at seeing Hermione being there. The next moment the mass of brown hair covered his face and an overly relieved witch squeezing the air out of him.

"'mione, can't breathe." He somehow got the word out. Hermione broke the hug, chuckling, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks. She violently rubbed them away with the back of her hand. She gave him a bright hearty smile that says 'all is well'.

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" Hermione asked, concern and worry creeping into her voice and persona.

"Sore and dizzy, apart from that just fine." Harry answered, trying his best to humour her. Attempt falling flat on its face if the expression on Hermione's face were any indication.

Madam Pomphrey offered two vials of potions from the side table. "Drink it in one go, Potter. They will help." Harry did as he was ordered by the matron. The first potion wasn't bad in taste but the second was just horrible, Harry hesitated for a second before pouring it in.

"That was disgusting." He said while making faces.

"That would clear the dizziness and any feeling of nausea. Children these days!" The last part said to no one in general and under her breath, seemed like she was thinking out loud.

"Ms. Granger, now you should go and have lunch. Mr. Potter is not leaving infirmary this weekend." Madam Pomphrey told the young witch.

"It would be better if you don't go to the great hall just yet. They are piqued about the article." Hermione winced after hearing Neville's word. Harry and Pomphrey looked confused.

"What article?" Harry asked his fellow Gryffindors who were avoiding his gaze at the moment.

"I will tell you later, Harry. It's not important." Harry doubted Hermione's statement.

"In that case, I will ask a house-elf to bring lunch for the two of you. I believe, Mr. Longbottom, you can have your meals in the great hall." Madam Pomphrey said and walked back towards her office. Neville left a minute later, two plates filled with food appeared in front of them. One on the side table and the other on a small table which appeared on the bed.

"Your quidditch injuries look like scratches compared to this." Hermione pointed out flatly.

"So, does that mean I won't be getting any stick from you for future quidditch injuries?" Harry responded playfully. The cold glare and flared nostrils was response enough for him to know that his attempt at humour had fa

Throughout their meal, either Hermione was avoiding his gaze or looked at him with a suspicious look in her eye. Once the meal was over, Harry could not hold his curiosity inside anymore.

"What's going on Hermione?" Harry asked her flatly.

"Did you kiss her?" Harry could not decipher the mixed emotions in her voice, anger or betrayal or suspicion or may be confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, he was seriously that Hermione would ask something like that and that too at this moment. She did not verbally answer, she just handed him the newspaper with the article open. As he started reading, his eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. His face paled, this did not go unnoticed from Hermione who was gazing Harry's face intently, studying every tiny change in his facial features.

"Answer me now! did you or did you not?" Hermione asked coldly, the last half of the sentence spoken a bit louder than she wanted. Even Hermione was surprised now with her line of thought, she could not understand why she was feeling affronted by his actions. Was it jealousy or was it the fact that he did not tell her about it.

"I, uh…., I mean….", Harry was flummoxed as how to answer it without angering her even more. Her icy glare doing nothing to help him.

"I did not kiss her, Hermione. She kissed me and it was over in a second." He muttered the last half as in trying to not speak it out loud. Now Harry was getting utterly confused with the reason for her anger. It's not he kept it from her, he most probably would have told her if it was not for his unconsciousness.

"It's nothing, Hermione. It was more like a peck on lips like a friend." He tried to defend, Hermione just huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her gaze still fixed on him.

"And what's with Krum and you?" He asked in conversational tone, trying to change the topic.

"It's nothing. He needed some help in finding a book and then sat on the same table. That's it." Hermione answered tacitly, the pitch of her voice dropping a bit towards the end.

"So, you like that American girl?" Hermione asked Harry, trying to know his view of her.

"She is a bit too extrovert and flirtatious. I didn't get much opportunity to really talk." Harry answered, his eyes on the newspaper. He completely missed the effect his words had on Hermione's expressions.

She changed the tactics and asked him a bit playfully, "So, what were you doing if not talking?" She punctuated her question with a mischievous smile that said 'I know what you did'.

"Uh…. Well the first time was the wand weighing and then the second time was just wishing each other good luck." He did not elaborate the unconventional method Zoe used to wish him or may be herself good luck. Neither the slight upwards tug at the end of his lips nor the unfocussed look in his eyes was missed by Hermione.

"Aham…. I will see you later, Harry." She started to leave but was stopped by her hand being pulled by Harry from behind.

"Thanks Hermione, for being by my side all along." He gave her a deep heartfelt smile which showed his gratitude towards the witch. His eyes were filled with the gratitude and the joy of having a friend you can fall back on. All the anger she was feeling melted and so did her heart. She flashed him a small smile and walked towards the exit of the infirmary. As she stepped in the corridor outside the infirmary and stopped dead in her track as she came across the most unexpected sight. Miss Zoe Walker, the Ilvermorny champion was walking towards her.

"Hi, I'm Zoe Walker." She introduced herself while offering her hand. Hermione accepted her hand with some hesitation and a curt nod.

"Hello, I'm Her…."

"Hermione Granger, I know." She said, cutting Hermione off midsentence. Hermione's opinion of her dropping even further southwards.

"Is he up?" Zoe asked, tilting her head to point her chin towards the hospital ward.

"Yes, he is awake." Hermione answered curtly, "He needs his rest, so it would be better if you came back later sometime." Hermione stepped to the side and started walking away from her. Before she could walk more than a few steps, Zoe interrupted her.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Can we talk somewhere more isolated?" She asked in the most business-like manner.

Hermione gave her a nod and started walking towards a class which she expected to be empty. She opened the door and motioned her to enter first, she followed the older witch. She locked the door and put a silencing charm on the door. They both stood a few feet apart in an awkward silence.

"What do you want to talk about?" Hermione asked without wasting anymore time.

Zoe looked into her eyes and could see that there was no friendliness and trust present for her. She was fidgeting a bit, her fingers tapping the desk she was leaning against. Hermione was standing against the door.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Zoe asked without any preamble.

"Why do you care?" Hermione replied acidly, giving her a look that could vaporize an ice.

"Don't try to play dumb here. You must have read the article already." She answered, taking a deep breath in. She needed to keep her temper in check, she didn't expect this girl to be this unfriendly.

"Why did you do it?" her cold gaze not moving an inch away from the American witch.

"Because I wanted to. Jealous much, don't tell me you haven't thought about it?" Zoe countered with a knowing smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Are you two together?" She continued after a pause a couple of seconds.

"I don't want to sound rude but It's none of your business." Hermione turned on her heels and cancelled the silencing charm and was about to inlock the door when Zoe interrupted her again.

"What's your problem? Why are you being a bitch if I want to get close to him? I was trying to be civil and wanted to make sure that you are not an item. It seem I don't need to. It would be better if you stay out of my way." Before Hermione could respond, Zoe walked towards the door, unlocked it and left, leaving a stunned Hermione to her musings.

Zoe started to walk towards the infirmary, she knew she could have handled the situation better but no worries. She will go and check up on Harry.

As she entered the ward, she saw Harry sitting on the bed, reading the paper, his left hand and legs heavily bandaged. He was sitting in his pyjamas, his black hair unruly and unkempt giving him a roguish look. She walked up to him.

"Wassup champ! How you doing?" Zoe asked in a cheery voice and with a bright smile.

"Hey, I'm Fine." Harry answered a bit hesitantly, his cheeks coloured a bit. "It looks like you are in good condition."

"I was out of the hospital in a couple of hours. Vipertooth are easier to handle, they are dangerous but not that big." She answered while occupying the sit previously occupied by Hermione.

"It looks like you impressed the judges. You are in third position, behind Diggory and myself. From what I heard, you put quite a show there." Harry's face turned a bright shade of red on being complimented for his performance.

-X-X-

Hermione ran to the dormitory, not trusting herself to breakdown in the corridor and cry. How could she think that she could be any more than a friend to the emerald eyed boy? She was just the bookworm friend who was only good enough for helping him prepare. She reached her dormitory and walked to her bed. The scene that greeted her was bad. On her bed were lying pieces of red paper which she knew belonged to howlers. There were, at the least, fifty more letters spread all over the floor around her bed and on her bed. She carefully picked a stuffy brown envelope. As she opened the envelope, her fingers were covered in a sticky puss. A moment later her skin started to itch and burn, she dropped the envelope and ran towards the infirmary. Her tears spilling down her face. When she crossed the common room and the corridors, a few people snickered, some shamelessly laughed and pointed towards her. She ran without giving a damn about the people taunting and laughing at her.

As she ran into the infirmary, Harry was fast to deduce that something was very wrong and stood up from his bed and stepped towards, his right arm wrapping around her waist. The moment his arm held her, she broke down in his arm. He needed all his strength to keep her standing, his legs were stinging a bit but he pushed it aside. Hermione was crying like a baby on his shoulder and chest. They both sliding down to the kneeling position on the floor, Harry was moving right hand along her spine in a desperate attempt to calm her down, he was whispering in her ear that all will be fine. Hermione's arms were spread on the side, keeping them from touching Harry.

Madam Pomphrey rushed out of her office on hearing the loud noises coming from the room outside. She asked Harry to move her to an empty bed and asked Zoe to support him in doing so. Madam Pomphrey brought a big bowl and put both of Hermione's hand in it and washed them with a clear solution then replaced the solution with Murtlap Essence and asked Hermione to keep her hands soaked in the solution. Zoe bid her good byes and left the duo.

"Keep it soaked, it will reduce the prickling and pain." Madam Pomphrey left them and returned to her office.

Harry set on the left side of her on the bed, his right arm around her shoulders. She leaned towards him and rested her head on his right shoulder. Her tears were flowing down uninterrupted. Harry was patting her shoulder gently to calm her down. It looked like she was regaining her composure slowly, her cries slowly turned into light sobs and sniffles. A few minutes later, all the sobs died down and replaced by occasional sniffs.

"What Happened Hermione?" Harry asked in a concerned voice, gently caressing her shoulder.

She explained what happened after she entered the dormitory, everything that happened since till she reached the infirmary. "Why Harry, why it's happening to me, happening to us?"

"I don't know Hermione, may be they are jealous of your brains and your beauty. Rita is doing all this to get revenge on you for standing to her. Don't worry, we will talk to McGonagall. Everything will be alright."

An hour later, madam Pomphrey returned with a blue salve and applied it on the burns on Hermione's hands. She than covered her hands with bandages.

"Make sure you keep them dry and don't move your fingers much." Madam Pomphrey prescribed. She allowed Hermione to spend the night in the ward which she accepted without any protest. Pomphrey asked a house-elf to bring dinner to for the two of them. At the moment, Harry and Hermione were sitting at the same bed, facing each other. Hermione was narrating the action in the dragons' pit. Harry was enjoying his time, sounds ridiculous as they both were in hospital.

When the food arrived, Hermione was having trouble as she was not to move her fingers much. Watching her fumble with the cutlery, harry offered to slice her food for her. She agreed after some protest. Even after that she was trouble with the eating part.

"Leave the fork down, Hermione." Harry ordered in stern voice. He picked it up and fed Hermione a piece of chicken. When she hesitated, Harry just answered, 'what are friends for'.

That night, Hermione was a very happy witch even after the incident with the hate mail and the conversation she had with Zoe. She was content that she at least had a friend who cares for her and would help her any way possible.

Harry on the other hand was thinking about the conversation he had with Zoe. They both could not understand how anyone knew about what happened in the tent as they were the only ones present inside. They had no idea how someone eavesdropped on them. They both made it clear to each other that they hadn't spoken about it to anyone. Harry was not worried about his name being smeared because that was already happening. He was worried that Zoe might get some flake from some of the over enthusiast readers and well-wishers. With these thoughts and concern about the well-being of his best friend, Harry slowly drifted off to sleep.

-X-X-

The next day, Harry and Hermione were cleared to leave the infirmary around noon after a final check-up. Harry was holding a box, full of different potions for him and Hermione was given a small pot of salve for her injuries. Neville had come to meet them and was walking along the duo. Harry informed him that they will be going to meet McGonagall first to talk about the hate mail Hermione was receiving. Neville offered to take his potions back to the dorm, Harry happily agreed and promised to meet him at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

The duo walked towards the office of the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. They were asked to enter after the knocked on the office door.

"Good afternoon, professor." Both said in unison.

"Good afternoon Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. I hope you both are well. What can I do for you." She replied in her characteristic stern Scottish manner and motioned them to take a seat opposite to her.

"Professor, we wanted to, actually I wanted to…. To discuss….", Hermione started to speak but was unable to put the thought into words due to the awkwardness of the subject at hand.

"Professor, we need your help with the hate mail Hermione is receiving." Harry answered for Hermione, his eyes fixed at McGonagall, he totally missed the blush on Hermione's face at the mention of the mail.

"I am aware of the situation in general terms. The best I can do is to ask some house-elf to screen the mail before it gets delivered to you."

Hermione flinched a bit that an unfortunate elf will be facing the brunt of the hate mail she has been receiving. Before she could object or suggest some alternative of her own, Harry agreed to the idea given by the professor. Hermione glared at Harry for a moment before returning her gaze back towards the professor. She knew that Harry was just trying to keep her safe from some stupid elements of the wizarding population.

"Thank you, professor." Harry started to rise and move out of the chair but McGonagall asked him to wait for a minute.

"Headmaster will be announcing this news at dinner but I wanted to inform you personally. The host school organises Yule ball on the Christmas day, it's a traditional part of the tournament and an opportunity for the students to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will start at 8:00 PM and will end at the stroke of midnight. Formal dress robes is the dress code for the evening." McGonagall said in her lecturing tone. "You, as the champion, will be opening the ball with your partner along with the other champions and their partners. It seems that you already have one." Her eyes moving between Harry and Hermione with a mischievous glint. Hermione blushed but Harry had a confused look on his face. It took a couple of seconds before he came to realize the meaning of the statement.

"Oh, no no no no." Harry said, while shaking his violently. "We are not together professor, we are just best friends, that's it." Hermione felt a small pinch of disappointment which even she did not care about.

"As you say, Potter. Either way you have to ask a girl to the ball. You will be opening the dance with your partner." McGonagall replied, her eyes losing the glint. She looked at Hermione to see her reaction to Harry's answer. In the next seat, Harry paled at the realization that he would need to dance that too in front of everyone. He knew he was worse than a troll at dancing.

"I believe Ms. Granger won't have any problem in teaching you some basics about dancing."

Harry just nodded and the duo walked out of the classroom, the discussion that just had with their head of house running in their head. Harry was thinking about the prospective dates for the Yule Ball while they walked towards the great hall.

"Harry, who are you planning to ask for the ball?" Hermione asked while taking a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Err…. I haven't planned to ask anyone yet. Maybe I will ask Cho." There discussion was halted as a great grey owl flew towards them and crashed into a pitcher of pumpkin juice, splashing everyone in vicinity. Tied to its leg was a letter in red coloured envelope addressed to Hermione. Hermione removed the letter but was afraid to open it, a few moments later, smoke started to rise from the letter.

"Hermione, open it now or it will be disastrous." Neville shouted from his seat across from her. The great hall had gone silent as everyone had noticed the crashing owl. All eyes were fixed on Hermione as she held the red letter in her hand. She broke the seal with her shaking hand.

 _"HERMIONE GRANGER, HOW DARE YOU HURT HARRY LIKE THAT? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE HIS FRIEND. YOU KNOW HE HAD ENOUGH PROBLEMS ALREADY IN HIS LIFE AND YOU BREAK HIS HEART, YOU BETRAYED HIM. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED AT BURROW FROM HERE ON."_ The howler spoke in Mrs. Weasley's voice and almost everyone was laughing or snickering afterwards.

Hermione was in tears, she thought of Mrs. Weasley as a distant relative. She thought Mrs. Weasley knew and understood that she won't hurt Harry ever. Of course, she was wrong, she was feeling humiliated, more than how she felt after the article in the Prophet. She felt like her trust was shattered in a million pieces. She could not stop her tears from flowing down her cheeks. She rose from her seat and ran towards the door. Harry followed her and was calling her all the way, she was headed towards the lake. It took a minute or so for Harry to catch up with her. He gripped her right elbow and turned her so they were face to face. Harry noted, for the first time, that their heights were almost the same.

He held her from her shoulders, with his right hand he lifted her head from her chin so their eyes were in level. She was avoiding his gaze.

"Hermione, look at me." He asked in a soft but firm voice.

"I swear Harry, I didn't do anything to betray you of break your trust." She said in between her sobs, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Shh…. I know, Hermione, I know. May be Mrs. Weasley trusted what that crooked reporter wrote in the papers. We will write her a letter and explain." He tried to calm her down.

She stepped towards him and embraced him. Her arms were coiled around his chest and back. He moved his arms to rest around her shoulders. He kept stroking her hair in a calming way.

They went to the common room a few minutes later when Hermione calmed down. They sat in the chairs around a table in a corner of the common room. Hermione wrote a long letter explaining the situation and her story. An hour later, they went to the owlery where they found Mercury perched in a nook towards the top. The bird came down when it saw her. She tied the letter on Mercury's leg and ordered it to not to wait for a response. They saw Hedwig perched and sleeping in a nook on the other end of the owlery, its head hidden under its wing.

A/N: I know it's a bit too sweet at times, it's too fluffy towards the end. I tried my best to portray an early teenage puppy love scenario, been through a similar situation. Don't kill me for it, it just happened. There is high probability that the next chapter will be posted in April, stay tuned. Please review.


	8. B1: Chapter 8 - The Date Desparation

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: There is fair chance that there will be times during the story where you will want to beat me with a beater's bat but I assure you that there are small things which take care of themselves. A potion class duration I have assumed as ninety minutes, similar to a chemistry lab session. Please Review, it's encouraging.

Chapter Eight: The Date Desperation

"As I can see that you are full with the excellent dinner prepared in the Hogwarts kitchen, I have an announcement to make. The host school organises Yule ball on the Christmas day for the guests, it's a traditional part of the tournament and an opportunity for the students to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will start at 8:00 PM and will end at the stroke of midnight. Formal dress robe is the dress code for the evening. Students, fourth year and up, are allowed to attend. Every student, not eligible for Yule Ball would be going home for the Christmas holidays. The train will be leaving on December 22 and the return ride will be on January 3."

As Dumbledore announced this news, there was murmurs and a few protests from younger students who were not allowed to attend the event. On the other hand, the senior students were excited about the prospect. The cheering, clapping and general chatter started the moment news was absorbed. Dumbledore scanned the great hall as in trying to read the reaction on every face. He continued a minute later.

"Keeping this in mind, the weekend before Christmas will be a Hogsmeade weekend, for those who forgot to bring their formal dress robes which were mentioned in the letters and for those too who want to do some last-minute shopping. I hope you will enjoy it."

He dismissed the students after this announcement with that twinkle in his eyes. Harry walked to the common room with Hermione and Neville on either side. Neville was fidgeting a bit and Harry noticed that he was a bit uncomfortable about it.

"Neville, what's going on?" Harry asked in a friendly way.

"Umm, Harry, after the task, I brought your stuff and your broom to the dormitory. Your broom tail is a bit singed from the task. I'm sorry." Neville answered with a bit of hesitation.

"Don't be sorry Neville, it was not your fault. Besides I have a broom servicing coupon left. The manufacturers gave a free servicing coupon for the first customers of the brooms, luckily I'm one of them." Harry answered with a genuine smile. It made Neville forgot all the uncomfortable feeling related to this subject. Hermione was looking at him, a bit surprised as she didn't know about it and she asked him the next moment.

"Oh, there was a letter by manufacturers, it seems someone bought the broom in my name. The company sent the coupon towards the end of last term. Sorry, I forgot to tell you." Harry answered, looking Hermione in the eye.

As they were walking towards the couch in front of the fireplace, Ron intercepted Harry. His eyes downcast and a bit of shame reflecting in the demeanour. His ears were just as red as his hair, if not more.

"Hey mate, how are you?" Ron asked, a bit hesitantly. From his voice, it was clear that he was feeling bad for what he did or how he behaved.

"Hey Ronald, I'm fine." Harry answered flatly. He knew that he won't remain angry at him for long but he also knew that what Ron did was betrayal of his trust. What was worse was, he was supposed to be his best-mate. It was not the right comparison but the situation felt a bit like the Marauders where Ron was Peter. Harry felt a bit ashamed for even thinking that Ron could do such thing but he was angry at him.

"Harry, I just…. Umm…. I wanted to tell you that I believe you. It was stupid to think that you would do something like that. But I was not the only one, others also wanted you to compete, everyone was talking behind your back." Ron answered, his face a bit flushed.

"I don't care about what others think Ron, I was your best mate, you should have believed me." He replied and started walking towards the couch.

"Harry, I want us to be back to being best mates." Ron asked, surprisingly, in a very humble way.

"Ron, you were my first friend, I trusted you and you broke the trust. It's not going to get back to 'normal' because you want to. You need to earn the trust back. I haven't forgiven you and you haven't apologized." Harry answered and instead of going to the couch, he started walking towards the dormitory. He wished good night to Hermione and stepped on the stairs leading to the boys' dormitory. Ron just stood there, in the middle of the common room, his right hand holding the armrest of the couch to give him support. Hermione followed Harry and walked towards the stairs leading to girls' dormitory.

-X-X-

It was after their morning run on Monday, when Harry was returning from the quidditch pitch with Hermione in tow. Harry stopped in his track as he entered the entrance hall, his heart just fell in the pit of his stomach. The scene unfolding in front of his eyes was a bit too painful to watch for him.

Across the hall, near the passage leading to the North where Ravenclaw tower was, student a couple, their arms around the other, their foreheads almost in contact. The tall Hufflepuff seventh year boy with curly golden hair was leaning down towards the beautiful black-haired Ravenclaw prefect girl from fifth year. Not wanting to stand there any longer, Harry ran towards the marble staircase leading towards the East wing where Gryffindor Tower was. It took Hermione as a minute to catch up with him.

"Harry, why are you running?" She asked, gripping his elbow to turn him around so they were face to face.

"Nothing, I just wanted to get to the common room soon." Harry answered, his eyes moving away from hers.

"Harry, it's not nothing. What's the matter?" Hermione was unaware of what happened in the entrance hall that sent Harry running.

"Ok, Come here." Harry relented, tugging Hermione towards an arch window in the passage in which they were standing at the moment. Harry stood leaning on the window parapet, looking in the distance. Hermione stood on his right, her elbows resting on the parapet, her left hand resting on Harry's forearm. After a minute's silence, Harry started to speak.

"You know Hermione, I…. kind of…. Had a crush on someone." Harry said, his voice stuttering a bit. Hermione just looked at his face knowingly, she just nodded to tell him to continue.

"you know the Ravenclaw seeker I played against last year?" He asked her. In reply, she just nodded with a small smile.

"I had a crush on her from the beginning of this term, actually since the train ride. I wanted to ask her to accompany me to the Yule Ball." Harry answered, still looking towards the quidditch pitch.

"when we came in the entrance hall, I saw Cedric and her together, standing there you know. I think they are together." He finally looked towards her, a bit hurt and somewhat disappointed.

"Harry, you will find a date, don't worry about it. And I know about your crush on Chang. I am your best friend, it's my job to know about these things." She replied and gave him a genuine smile. "You know, you could ask Zoe. I know she is older but I don't think you would mind her being older if Cho was any indication." She answered with a mischievous smile and her eyebrows wiggling.

"Although, she is a bit taller than me, I would need to stand on a stair to kiss her." Harry replied with an expressionless face. They both stared at each other for a few moments then laughter broke out. They both were laughing as if it was the most hilarious thing they have heard in months. It took them a couple of minutes to regain their composure and they started walking towards the Gryffindor common room, their arms around each other's shoulder.

-X-X-

The day couldn't have been worse, Harry thought. It was the worst one since he faced the dragon a week ago, or may be worst of the month. Harry had parted with his Firebolt during lunch, a representative from the company collected it for the repair work. He had sent them a letter about the condition and repairing requirement, they had replied the next day that they would be sending someone to collect the broom and will be returning it by the end of the month. That was not the bad part.

The bad part was, what came after the lunch. Gryffindors had double potions in the afternoon with the Slytherins. Harry never understood the reason anyone would couple Gryffindor and Slytherins together that too for the potions. A sneering Snape and a foul mouthing Malfoy was a bad combination and handling them for 3 hours was torture, as simple as that. Today, even the double potion was not the worst part either. The worst part came as they were leaving the dungeons.

"Hey scarhead, it seems like the Prophet was wrong when they said that you were found with the American girl. Looks like you are stuck with the mudblood." Malfoy said from behind the Gryffindor students, his cronies standing on his side. It looked like Parkinson and Nott had joined the Malfoy's crony brigade. His face had that characteristic sneer associated with both Snape and Draco. But before Harry could answer, Ron stepped in.

"Don't call her that, you ferret!" He spat.

"Oooh…. Weasley got hots for the mudblood. What you gonna do, 'Weasel'?" Draco answered, taking a step towards them. Ron drew his wand but before he could fire any hex, he was hit by a purple hex, he fell to the ground. Harry immediately reacted and drew his wand but Draco had fired another hex towards Hermione, which hit her in the face. Harry disarmed Draco, his wand flew towards Harry and he caught it with his left hand.

"What is the matter here?" Snape asked with the sneer pasted on his face and without waiting for an answer he continued. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for duelling in Corridor. Potter return Malfoys wand."

Harry saw the reaction to the spells first. Hermione's front two teeth were growing at an alarming rate while Ron's face had purple tentacles attached to it.

"But he fired the first shot! Can't you see it?" Harry answered, his anger rising. Hermione had started crying, her face downcast. Ron was now standing, his hands covered his face.

"I see no difference." Snape answered, looking towards Ron and Hermione. "Now return the wand and clear the passage." He commanded and left, his cloak billowing behind him like a bat. Hermione ran from the corridor crying hard, Ron following her. Harry just threw the wand on the ground and started running towards Hermione and Ron. They were going towards the infirmary.

Ron's spell was reversed in a moment but Hermione's situation was a bit tricky.

"Ms. Granger, I have halted the growth of your teeth but they can't be reduced by a spell. We would need to remove them and regrow them. It would be painful." Madam Pomphrey said. Hermione was lying on the hospital bed, the covers drawn towards her face, covering half of it to hide her overgrown teeth. She was still crying but much slower, she just nodded at madam Pomphrey's answer. "You would need to stay overnight for the Skele-Gro to complete its work." Madam Pomphrey continued. Harry was sitting on the chair on the right side of the bed. He was gently patting Hermione's shoulder while telling her that everything will be fine and trying to stop her from crying.

"Thanks Ron, for standing up for me." Hermione mumbled from behind the covers.

"What are friends for. Get well soon Hermione!" Ron replied and gave her and Harry a smile. He left the infirmary afterwards.

"Harry, promise me you won't laugh on me." Hermione asked, her face red with embarrassment, she was avoiding his gaze.

"You don't need to ask Hermione. I promise I won't." Harry answered truthfully, his eyes not leaving her face.

Madam Pomphrey walked towards them carrying a Skele-Gro potion vial and another couple of vials.

"Miss Granger, removing teeth would be very painful and re-growing them will be the same." She said while handing her a small vial. "It is pain numbing potion, just to help you with the initial part. Drink it in once." Hermione removed the covers, her teeth were a half a dozen inches long, may be more. She uncorked the vial and drank the potion, flinching and coughing at the taste.

Then Madam Pomphrey dipped a cotton piece in the second potion which was a scarlet coloured one. It was the one to remove the teeth, according to the matron. "tilt your head backwards and bare your teeth." Hermione followed the instructions. Madam Pomphrey dabbed her gums of the front two teeth and a moment later the two long teeth fell from her jaw. Madam Pomphrey picked up the teeth and administered the Skele-Gro and left her to take rest.

During this process, Harry held Hermione's right hand in his while rubbing the back of it gently with the pad of his thumb. She looked at him after madam Pomphrey had left. Her expressions reflected that even after the pain numbing potion, she was feeling a bit of pain. She gave Harry a smile and Harry could see in her eyes that she was thankful that he was sitting there with her.

-X-X-

Hermione was released from infirmary the next day before breakfast. She was sitting in the library in the evening alone. It had been more than a week since she had been on her own in the library, in her favourite spot next to the restricted section entrance. The table was hidden from the view with the shelves and the restricted section entrance. It was her secluded island in the ocean of knowledge. The table was named 'bookworm residence' by other students in her 'respect'. She had laid claim to that table in her first year and now nobody dared to use it except the trio. Hence it was a surprise when Victor Krum took the seat across from her a few weeks back, today it was the third occasion when they shared the table, not that she was counting or anything.

He was being a gentleman and asked her for some book about human transfiguration. It took her some time to guide him to the exact book. He was now sitting in front of her reading that book.

"Hermininny!" Krum asked her in his accented voice. He couldn't pronounce her name perfectly, she had tried to correct him last time but now she had given up on it.

"Hmm." Hermione replied, her eyes not moving away from the book.

"I 'ave to azk somezing." Krum continued, expecting her to raise her eyes away from the book.

"Ok." She answered, her unmoving gaze still fixed on the book.

"Will yeh go ball wiz me?" He asked a bit hesitantly. Her head jerked up as soon as the question was asked, her gaze now fixed at Krum. She was calculating and analysing reason why he would ask her. It seemed like Krum identified the confusion on her face. He tried to explain his situation and feelings. "Hermininny, yeh're not a fangirl. SO, I asked you."

Now her mind was racing and so was her heart. The quidditch star seeker was asking her, Hermione, to be her date to the Yule ball. Her blood rushed towards her face and in a moment, she rivalled the colour which was known as 'Weasley Red'. Her words were stuck in her throat, she was unable to make a sound and her lips were moving like a fish out of water.

"Hermininny!" Krum tapped on her shoulder to bring her out of her trance. She blushed as she saw that his hand was placed on her shoulder.

"I…. uh…." She started to answer but words wouldn't form.

"Are Potter and yeh a couple? Did he ask yeh already?" Krum inquired. He was confident that even if potter had, she couldn't refuse him.

"No." She answered quietly. She was expecting Harry to ask her but it seemed like he was not going to ask her to be his date to the Ball. She thought that Harry might not find her beautiful enough. Hell, she was nothing compared to the beautiful Ravenclaw seeker, Hermione knew that she was quite plain.

"Ok Victor, I will go with you to the ball." She answered excitedly. In response, Victor kissed her hand and walked away with the book in his hand. Hermione was blushing crimson as she was recounting what just happened.

"Victor!" she called him, he hadn't walked ten feet yet. He turned and walked back towards her. "Please try to pronounce my name correctly, it's Her-my-o-nee. Or just forget it, call me mione, Ok." She told him, a bit too fast for him but he understood somehow, "Ok, Mione." She could feel the flutter in her stomach as he said her name and left the library. She packed her books and bag and left the library a few minutes later.

Harry was confused, so confused that he could not concentrate on the game of chess he was playing against Ron. He had asked Harry for a game, trying his best to mend the bridges. Ron tried to not beat him badly and Harry was aware that he was doing it, Harry didn't confront him about it. His mind was on something else. He was supposed to open the Yule Ball with his partner. The problem was, he didn't know how to dance and at the moment it looked like his dancing skills won't be the only thing embarrassing him. It has been a week since he had been informed about the ball. His primary choice for the date was most probably the date of the 'original champion' of Hogwarts.

He was thinking about his situation when the portrait swung open to admit Hermione. She looked delighted, a goofy grin present on her face, her eyes were unfocussed as if she was completely lost in her thoughts. He called her twice but she just walked past him without any kind of acknowledgement of his presence as if he wasn't even there. This spiked his interest in the reason of Hermione acting non-Hermione-ish. But there was now nothing that could be done about it, she was halfway through to her dormitory on the staircase.

He was thinking about the prospective dates for the Ball. The list was quite short as his image in the school was not at its best at the moment. He previously thought that he might ask Ginny as a friend but she was not allowed and it was a good thing. It would have super weird if he had asked her. She was a fangirl to the Boy-Who-Lived and she was the younger sister to Ron. He did not want any more awkwardness between him and Ron, there was enough to last both of them a decade.

The second option was to ask Katie Bell, she was a year older but that wouldn't be such a problem as Cho would have been the same. Katie was quite pleasant looking and she had been good to him in the past as they were on the quidditch team together. The plan got scrapped as he came to know that the three Gryffindor chasers were dating the twins and Lee Jordan.

The third option was to Fay Dunbar, she was the only Gryffindor girl in his apart from Hermione who was not the gossip girl. She was positively interested in quidditch, she was a half-blood, her mother being a witch. So, they would have enough in common to talk about. He was informed by Neville that she was accompanying Kevin Entwhistle, fourth-year Ravenclaw.

For a moment, Harry thought that he would go without a date or he would ask McGonagall for a dance, if he was feeling too daring. He laughed on the level of stupidity of this thought. His options had been extinguished with that list.

The only option in his list was Hermione Granger, it was not that she was his backup plan, they would have obviously gone as friends. The only hesitation Harry had was that it might get awkward between them. She was his best friend and presently the only person he could talk about anything without the fear of being judged, not that he was afraid of it, he just didn't want to be exposed to it. He second problem in this choice was, he didn't want to expose her to the attacks, even more than she was now. There had been enough written about their supposed relationship and he did not want to fuel the fire. He did not want to see her get hurt even more.

He had come to the realization that it would be the best if he asked her for the ball. That would make sure that he enjoyed the ball and so would she and wouldn't have to worry about maintaining a personality which he was now used to, trying to shut people out. They would have enough to talk and maybe she can teach him how to dance so he does not crush her toes.

He was waiting for her to return from library so he can ask her about it but she just walked straight to her dormitory. He decided that the first thing he would do when he sees her would be to ask her.

When his mind restarted processing, he saw that Ron was waving his hand in front of his eyes and calling his name.

"Earth to Harry, where are you? It's your turn mate." Ron said jokingly.

"Nothing. You win Ron, I got to go." He rose left went to his dormitory to get changed from his school uniform robes to something comfortable from the limited wardrobe he had.

Fifteen minutes later he was sitting on the couch in the common room, Neville was sitting next to him, busy reading a Herbology book given by Moody. A few minutes later, she descended the stairs and walked towards him, she had a letter clutched in her hand. Before Harry could ask her anything, she spoke.

"Harry, can we go to the owlery? I need to send this home to mum." She asked, her excitement clearly visible in her eyes and her demeanour. Harry just nodded and they started walking towards the owlery side by side. Harry was thinking that it would be a good time as they won't have any interference or interruption to their talk. They reached the owlery and Hermione sent Mercury away after tying the letter to its leg. All this time, Harry was trying to form the question.

"Hermione, I wanted to ask you something." Harry put the question forward, he was fidgeting too much.

"Harry, you don't need permission to ask me something." Hermione replied, patting Hedwig on the chest and head with her fingers.

"Hermione, it would be a pleasure if you would accompany me to the ball." Harry asked a bit hesitantly. His eyes fixed on the side of Hermione's face. Her head jerked towards him and Harry could see the something in her eyes which looked like guilt and sadness.

"Oh, Harry." She walked towards him and put her right hand on his arm, squeezing it lightly. "I want to but I can't. Someone already asked me and I agreed. I'm so sorry." She gave him a guilty smile, her eyes showed that she was really sorry about it. All the anxiety and excitement he was feeling a few minutes before was replace by disappointment and an underlying sadness. This reflected on his face as Hermione came closer and gave him a hug, whispering in his ear that she was really sorry.

"Uh…. It's ok Hermione, it's fine. I…. I will ask someone…. Not a big deal." He broke the hug and walked out of the owlery. The warmth he was feeling inside himself a moment ago, was suddenly changed to an all freezing cold. Hermione followed him a moment later. They were on their way back to the great hall. A thousand questions and doubts were running rampant in Harry's mind. He was walking towards the great hall purely on mechanical mode. His brain was busy processing about Hermione and her date to the ball. Who? When? How? Where? There were only questions and no answers. He needed to know. He wasn't going to waste another moment to try to deduce on his own when he could just ask.

"So, who is this guy?" He was trying to ask her flatly but even he could hear the slight rude tone of his voice.

"Uh…. It's a secret Harry. Don't worry, he is a good person. I will tell you later." She answered, her voice filled with excitement and happiness but it also had the caring tone she reserved for him. He was confused and a bit angry that she didn't mention it, although the anger was not exactly directed at her. But Harry knew that it would be impossible to remain angry with her.

He maintained a smile on his face for the rest of the dinner. Harry thought that it would be enough to make sure nobody notices. He was wrong with that assumption. Hermione was trying her best to decipher what exactly Harry was feeling. She was in a dilemma, she wanted to go with him but he had waited too long and she had agreed to go with someone else and now she was feeling guilty. It wasn't like they had any obligation in that regard, there was no compulsion to wait for the other and besides Harry wanted to go with someone else previously. It was too confusing to decide what exactly she was feeling right now. The day was emotionally taxing enough and she did not want to overdo it.

Harry rose from his seat before the dessert to go to the dormitory, Hermione offered to accompany him and without his answer she tagged along. As they were just leaving the entrance hall to walk towards the passage leading to the Gryffindor tower, there was a shout from behind them.

"Wait, Mione!" Victor was calling her at the top of his voice. They both turned simultaneously to look at him. He was walking towards them with steady pace and big steps. He stopped a couple of feet away from them and asked Hermione if they can talk in private. She just nodded and led him down the passage. Harry was getting angry and he was not sure why though. Right now, he just wanted to push Krum away and take Hermione to common room with himself.

Krum and Hermione stopped a dozen steps or so away from Harry, Krum held Hermione's left elbow gently and turned her towards him so they were facing each other. Her breath hitched in her lungs for a moment as she looked in his eyes, there was something underlying which she was unable to identify.

"Mione, the 'Ogsmeade weekend, can yeh show me 'round?" Krum asked, his eyes pleading.

"I am…." She glanced at Harry just for a moment, he was trying to avoid looking towards them. She was certain that she would be answering a lot of questions in a few minutes. "I am not sure about it Victor; can I tell you later?" He nodded and left with a kiss on her hand. A second later, Hermione walked towards Harry who was standing near a window at the end of the passage looking outwards, gazing at the violet sky of sunset.

She stood at his left, waiting for him to bombard her with questions but there were no words for a few minutes. Then Harry finally spoke after five minutes.

"So, you are going to the Ball with Krum?" Harry asked, his eyes still looking at the rising moon. It wasn't exactly a question rather than a confirmation. Hermione just mumbled the affirmation. Harry's insides constricted for a moment then he sighed and looked towards her.

"'Mione'?" He raised an eyebrow in a questioning way. "I thought you hated it when people give you nicknames, it seems I was wrong."

He turned away from her and started walking towards the Gryffindor tower. Hermione was not sure how to react, Harry's reaction had thrown her off track. She followed him on the way to the common room, there were no more words said between them. The silence was uncomfortable for Hermione, Harry on the other hand, had quite a habit to live in uncomfortably long silences. In the end, it was Hermione who broke the silence.

"Harry?"

"I thought I was the only one who called you 'Mione' and that too because I was your best friend. It looks like things have changed." He replied, without looking towards her, she flinched at the flatness of his tone. He was feeling like she would leave his side the moment she got close to Krum. She was the only friend he had right now and his life would be miserable if he lost her or being second placed in her priority list.

She pulled at his elbow so he would turn and look at her. She was now looking directly in his eyes, she could see that he was a bit hurt and worried. She needed him to listen to her, she wanted to explain the situation to him.

"Harry, you are my best and you will always be. You are the only friend who calls me 'Mione', not even my parents. Victor can't pronounce my name correctly so I told him to call me 'Mione'. I still hate when people give me nicknames." She replied, her voice filled with concern and something else which felt like guilt, maybe.

He did not respond to it right away, he was looking straight into her eyes. His gaze so intense, Hermione felt that he might be looking directly into her soul.

"What did he want now? After dinner?" he spoke after a minute of silence.

"He was asking if I can show him around Hogsmeade on the Hogsmeade weekend." She said while diverting his gaze from him. It felt like she was doing something wrong by agreeing to Krum. "I haven't decided though." She added as an afterthought.

"We were supposed to go for Christmas gift shopping together and on Sunday we were to meet padfoot and moony. How can you forget that." His pitch was rising with each word. He did not want to shout on Hermione, he took a couple of deep breaths and tried to control his temper.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I thought we could go separately for gift shopping. And I remember about meeting padfoot and moony. Please tell me now, what exactly are you angry about?" She was trying to keep the slight irritation she was feeling hidden from him. What exactly does he want her to say?

He did not answer, huffed and started walking towards the fat lady portrait. It was a good thing that the common room was empty as everyone else was still in the great hall. Harry sat at the couch in front of the fireplace, Hermione kneeled down in front of him. She brought both his hands in front and held them tight. She started making random patterns on the back of his hands, it was a soothing sensation. It took a couple of minutes for Harry to calm down enough. He was avoiding the eye-contact with Hermione. He squared off his shoulders and answered in a somewhat shaky voice.

"Hermione, I wanted to thank you for standing by me when nobody else did, I wanted to show my appreciation by taking you to the ball. Now it feels like you will be busy with Krum and again I would be the one left alone. I don't want that, not now, not after knowing what's going on." He paused for a minute, took a few deep and long breaths and waited for his mind to cool down.

"So, Victor huh? How did that happen? I want the whole story." Harry tried to release the tension with some light-hearted humour. It wasn't good but Hermione appreciated the attempt. She told him what happened in the library that day and the two occasions when they had spoken before today, then she narrated the conversation after the dinner. Harry wasn't happy about the situation but he understood that it was Hermione's decision, she was her own person and it won't do any good for their friendship if they interfered unnecessarily in each other's personal relationship.

-X-X-

Harry was now seriously worried about the upcoming social event which was now just more than a week away. It was Friday evening and tomorrow will be the last Hogsmeade visit before the Yule Ball. Everyone who hasn't yet obtained a formal dress robe was going to be there as well as those who needed to do Christmas gift shopping. Hermione told Harry that she had told Krum that she will not be able to accompany him to Hogsmeade as she had already promised Harry to do that. Harry had a long list of gifts he wanted to get for his friends.

Harry was sitting on the couch in the common room with the golden egg he retrieved in the first task in his hand. They were told that this was the clue for the next task but whenever Harry opened the egg, all he could hear was a loud shriek. It was so horrible that everyone was glaring at him when he had first opened it in the common room.

He was lost in his thoughts when Ron sat next to him on the couch, Neville was sitting on the chair on the right of the couch. It was surprising that Neville had been spending more time with Harry and Hermione than Ron. Harry and Ron had reached to a truce that they will mend their friendship slowly and the trust needed to be build up with time.

Right now, Ron was looking pleased with himself. He had a smug smile on his face and his chest a bit puffed up. It was a clear contrast from two days back when Ron's attempt to ask Fleur Delacour had ended in a disaster. He had asked her in the great hall that too in the middle of dinner with almost everyone present. Fleur was shocked and before she could utter a word, Ron had run away to save his face. Now he was looking like he had accomplished an impossible task.

"What's up Ron?" Neville asked, he had also noticed the cheery attitude Ron was having at the moment.

"I finally got a date." He answered with a smug smile.

"How?" Both Harry and Neville were shocked and their shock was apparent on their faces and in their voice.

"You know right that Dean and Seamus are going with Parvati and Lavender. So, I asked Seamus to ask Parvati to ask her twin sister in Ravenclaw that if she would be ok to go with me. She told that she would be if I asked her it personally. I just went to ask her and now I have a date who is beautiful."

"Good for you." Harry answered and was distracted again by his thoughts.

"Harry, you haven't got a date yet, right?" Neville asked, Harry just nodded without looking towards him. "Harry, you can ask Susan Bones. Hannah told me that Susan was asked by Justin but due a family emergency he would be leaving tomorrow by the Knight Bus. So, you may ask her, it would be like a double date." Neville continued in an explanation mode.

Harry said nothing for a few seconds and suddenly he turned his head towards Neville, a look of astonishment on his face, "Wait a minute! You are going with Hannah Abbott! How did you?"

Neville was blushing crimson, "Hannah's mom and my mum were together in school. Joanna, I mean Hannah's mom told me that she, my mum and your mom were good friends during their years together in school. I have known her since childhood, so it was less difficult than asking some girl I don't know." Harry thought about it for a minute or so then he turned back towards Neville.

"Say Neville, can you ask Hannah to ask Susan, if she would be fine to go to the ball with me. If she is fine, then I will ask her. It would be better that way." Harry replied with a look that implied that I'm trusting you. Neville nodded in affirmation.

The fact did not go unnoticed by Harry that the evening practices Harry and Hermione were having before the first task had been irregular since Krum entered the picture. Their morning runs continued but for the evening practices, Harry would either go alone or won't go at all. It felt like he was being side-lined in Hermione's life. She was now spending substantial amount of her free time, the time they used to spend together since the beginning of the school year, with Krum. Harry felt neglected, he hated that feeling, he hated the unwanted attention but he always liked the attention Hermione gives him. He was missing the time they spent together even if they sat in classes together, went for morning run together but he was missing the idol time they spent; the time they spent talking after the curfew, in the common room, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. She would return to the common room from the library just before the curfew and would climb the stairs towards the girls' dormitory in a few minutes.

-X-X-

The duo was sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, Neville and Ron had taken seats opposite them. As the breakfast was underway, Hannah and Susan arrived in the great hall and Neville went to talk to Hannah about Susan and Harry. A few minutes later, Neville returned with a knowing smile on his face.

"Harry, Susan might agree but you would need to ask her personally. Hannah said that do it soon or you might lose the chance." Harry acknowledged and told that he would talk to her before going to Hogsmeade. Hermione's reaction was not that pleasant, the genuine smile was absent from her face after Neville told Harry about Susan.

Susan Bones was an average tall with dark red hair which reached up to her waist. Her hair was a shade or two darker than Ron's. The buxom redhead had eyes of deep ocean blue colour. Her face was the prime example of cuteness, the sweet baby face with big eyes and small nose. She had the curvy figure for which many girls would give their limb to get. Harry had overheard a conversation between Seamus, Dean and Ron where they were deciding, who has the best figure in their year and that ended with a tie between Lavender and Susan.

After the breakfast, Harry told Hermione that he would meet her at the carriages and walked towards the Hufflepuff table. In the whole drama that started after his name was selected, Hufflepuff house was the most offended one. They were of the opinion that Harry was trying to steal the fame that came towards their house after a long time. She was in hostile territory and he needed to tread carefully. He walked directly towards Susan without sparing a glance for anyone else.

"Susan, can I talk to you, in private?" She nodded and rose from her chair gracefully. He led her out of the great hall and towards a side passage, leading towards the kitchens. He turned towards her, his eyes had a pleading look.

"Susan, I would like to have the pleasure to accompany to the Yule ball, would you be my date?" He had practiced this line for more than half an hour to get it perfect. Neville was a great help.

For a moment, Harry thought that she was going to refuse him, her face was completely blank. Then a smile broke and she chimed, "I would be delighted." Her voice was sweet and the twinkle in her eyes was unmistakably the feature of her appearance.

"Great, umm…. Can we go for a walk so we can talk a bit?" Harry suggested and Susan agreed. They had around an hour before carriages left for Hogsmeade. They walked towards the lake, Harry was leading her towards his favorite spot of oak tree and rock at the shore. The edge of the lake had started freezing and harry was sure that the water of the black lake was freezing cold.

Harry was told by Neville that Susan had lost her parents a month before Voldemort was defeated. Her aunt was the Director of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was one of the youngest DMLE directors and the second most powerful witch in the Ministry. It was a good thing that Susan was a bit talkative person but not a gossip girl. She told a few things that she liked, asked him about his likes and dislikes. Harry came to know that her favorite flower was lily, blue lily to be precise. It brought a smile on his face. It was a surprise to Harry when she told him that _'potions'_ was her favorite subject. She explained that she did not like Snape but she liked the subject. She wanted to be a healer. Harry had no idea what he wanted to be. They were sitting under the oak tree when he told her about the opening dance and his inability in the said art form. She told him that they can practice in the evenings, they had seven days to learn. Harry agreed to the idea purely on the basis that he won't be embarrassing himself in front of all the guests and the wizarding world.

They both reached the main doors leading to the entrance hall ten minutes before the carriages were to leave. They had decided that they would practice in the upcoming week after dinner. Harry would need to ask McGonagall for a gramophone for the practice. Harry was certain that they could practice in the open area in the gymnasium. They waited for their friends and climbed in the same carriage. Harry was sitting between Hermione and Susan on one side and Neville was sitting on the other side with Hannah. Harry was a bit uncomfortable that he was sitting this close to the buxom Hufflepuff. Hermione did not even acknowledge his date for the Yule Ball. The group split in two at their arrival in the village, Susan, Hannah and Neville went their way and Harry and Hermione walked in the opposite direction.

-X-X-

The duo was walking down the main street of Hogsmeade, the stone-paved path was covered with freshly fallen snow, there was light snowfall happening at the moment. They were walking towards _'Tomes and Scrolls'_ which was Hermione's favorite shop in Hogsmeade, it has to be as it was the only bookshop in the wizarding village. Harry knew which books Hermione wanted for her collection, she had mentioned it a few days ago, when they were searching a particular book for ancient runes. She had taken a liking to the subject, according to her it was like learning a new magical language. Harry had sent an owl order for a set of books to _'Flourish and Blots'._ The book was quite old and it was difficult to find any available copies. He had to part with a significant amount of gold but he was certain that it was worth it.

Hermione purchased a couple of books and they went to the _'Honeydukes'._ Harry was planning to buy gift baskets of chocolate for Neville and Ron. He placed the order for the gifts to be delivered on Christmas and paid for them.

They then went in the _'Gladrags Wizardwear',_ Harry had to buy a set of odd looking pair of socks for Dobby. He liked to wear mismatching socks with ridiculous designs. Hermione told him that she had made a beanie for him with flaps for his ears, Harry told her that he was going to love it. He bought a set of mufflers in Gryffindor colors for Sirius and Remus with their initials embroidered at the end.

For the twins, Harry was going to gift them with the new line of _'Zonko's Joke Shop'_ merchandise which he had pre-ordered. He was certain that they would put it to perfect use. After that they went to _'The Three Broomsticks'_ where they had the lunch of fish and chips followed by a warm flagon of butter-bear.

After lunch, they returned to the main street of the village. Hermione wanted to go to the _'Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop'_ but Harry wanted to buy something for Susan. Hermione told him to go ahead and asked him to meet her at the carriage stop.

As Harry walked towards the end of the street, he came across a small jewelry and ornament shop named _'Gems, Finery and Grace'._ He saw that the shelf on display had a wide variety of things. Harry was browsing through the shop when he came across a beautiful silver locket with a small book as pendant. The pendant book had intricate design on it, the shopkeeper lady told that the carving was handmade. The book opened and there were slots for pictures to be inserted on either side.

The first thing that came to his mind was how Hermione would look with this on. He knew that it was the perfect gift for her. He asked the price and for a moment, he was taken aback by the price but he knew that whatever help Hermione had given him was way too precious compared to the locket. He paid for the locket and gave clear instructions that he would be sending a photo by tomorrow which is to be fixed on the right face and a note to be carved on the left face.

 _Happy Christmas '94_

 _To, HJG_

 _With Love_

 _From, HJP_

He instructed to deliver it before Christmas to him in a velvet box. He bought a locket of mixed metal for Susan. The pendant of the locket was in the shape of _'S'_ which was inside a circle of entwined olive branches. It was elegant and beautiful. He paid for all the stuff and waked out of the shop.

As he was walking towards the carriage stop, he passed a florist shop. He stopped in front of it as he recalled what Dean had mentioned to Ron about muggle tradition for proms, the boy brings a corsage for his date. Harry thought it wouldn't harm to order one for Susan. He selected a design for a corsage and gave order for one to be made in blue lily buds with a preservation charm on it. He also ordered a blue long stemmed lily as lapel flower. He instructed that the corsage and flower pin are to be sent to him on Christmas morning.

After paying the florist, he continued walking towards the carriage stop. Ten minutes later, he was standing at the carriage stop waiting for Hermione who took another fifteen minutes to arrive. They were back in the castle before dinner, they dropped all the purchases in the dormitory and returned to the great hall after changing into something more comfortable.

Harry needed to talk to McGonagall about placing a gramophone in the gymnasium or to provide an empty classroom for the dance practice. He was certain that she would agree without any questions as it was the matter of the pride of the Gryffindor.

When he told the idea to McGonagall that his date Susan had agreed to teach him to dance and they needed space for practice and a gramophone set, she agreed but he could see that she was a bit disappointed in him and he had no idea why.

A/N: It is going a bit slow but I hope you are enjoying it.


	9. B1: Chapter 9 - How not to Crush Toes

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: The story will diverge for a few chapters here on. Harry and Hermione are a peculiar pair, they have a solid base for a happy relationship but lack the understanding and are constantly in denial or never perceive it due to the fear of ruining their friendship. As normal teenager relationships go they will both be involved with different people until they get their act together go for each other.

Please Review.

Chapter Nine: How not to Crush Toes

Minerva McGonagall was true to her words, she had given permission to use an empty classroom in the transfiguration corridor and placed the gramophone on the teacher's desk with a couple of music records. She had gone one step farther and transfigured classroom into a ballroom. Before the curfew, she had sent a note to Harry with Dobby about the classroom. Dobby was happy to show Harry to the transfigured classroom.

Before the night was over, Harry had to part with his first task jersey. Hermione asked him to have that jersey with the reasoning that she needed something more comfortable for their morning runs and Harry was no way opposed to the idea. So, now his red and gold jersey with 'Potter' spelt on the back of it belonged to one Hermione Granger.

Harry asked Colin about any pictures he had of his with Hermione only. Colin was happy to provide one which was taken a few weeks back when they were sitting under the oak tree by the lake shore. They were looking at peace, oblivious to the world. Hermione was sitting with her back to the trunk and her legs stretched in front with a book in her hand. Harry was lying on ground with his head resting on Hermione's legs near her knees. He was playing with a snitch he had caught in a match in previous year. After seeing the photograph, Harry didn't want to part with it but he knew that Hermione will also appreciate it. He wrote a small note on a piece of parchment and put the picture and the note in an envelope. He sent the envelope to the jewellery shop with Hedwig before he went to bed.

He went to bed early, he was exhausted with today's Hogsmeade trip. Who thought walking and shopping could be this tiring. As Harry was drifting to sleep, his mind was wandering over the thoughts of the day and the gifts he got for his friends specially the book locket. The photo he had sent to the jeweller was on his mind too, reminding him the serenity and normalcy he enjoyed with the witch.

-X-X-

Harry woke up early the next morning, he had a long day ahead. He went to get ready for his routine morning runs, he was in the common room fifteen minutes later, waiting for Hermione to come down from the dorm so they can continue with the morning activity. She came down, a few minutes late, looking apologetic. They ran in silence, neither of them wanting to break it. They had grown to enjoy silence between them as much as the conversations so it was not new for them to remain silent for long periods of time, a look or nod would be enough to communicate without words.

They returned an hour later, had shower and were sitting in the great hall for breakfast by eight o'clock. There weren't many people present in the hall at the moment, being Sunday morning, it wasn't new. They were busy with their meals when a redheaded Hufflepuff walked towards them with a bounce in her feet.

"Hey Harry! Hi Hermione!" She chimed as she reached behind the duo. A bright smile was present on her face, she was wearing a purple sweatshirt under a furry jacket and grey regular jeans, her hair was in a tight braid. She was quite bubbly for early Sunday morning, Harry felt that even a dementor could not dampen her mood right now.

"Hey Susan, want to join us for breakfast?" Harry asked, a light blush creeping up on his face, Hermione just nodded with a small smile. Susan took a seat next to Harry on the left side as Hermione was occupying his right side. She had eaten her breakfast so she settled for a goblet of pumpkin juice. She asked Harry if they can go for a walk after the breakfast and talk, Harry agreed without a moment's notice.

Just like the day before, Harry and Susan walked towards the spot at the lake shore, once the breakfast was over.

"Harry, did you ask McGonagall for the classroom?" Susan asked, on their way to the spot.

"Yeah, she transfigured a classroom into a ballroom and placed a gramophone there. I checked the room last night." Harry answered without breaking his stride. It was still a bit uncomfortable for harry to be with a girl he barely knew, the jovial character of Susan made sure there were no awkward silences between them and Harry was thankful for it.

"Can I ask you something, Harry? I hope you won't mind." Harry nodded in response and half turned his head towards her.

"I just wanted to know from you that you didn't put your name in the Goblet. It's fine if you don't want to answer." She asked a bit hesitantly, her eyes trying to find any traces of anger in his features.

"I didn't, Susan. I don't have a death wish." He answered curtly, he didn't want to go down this road.

"I understand, Harry. At first, I was angry that you did put your name in the goblet. I have known Cedric since my first year, he is kind of a big brother to me, so it was a bit personal. But after the first task, I was certain that it wasn't you. I believe in you." She answered with a small smile.

"Thanks Susan, I appreciate it." Harry responded with a grateful nod towards her.

They sat at the rock on the shore, the edge of the lake was frozen and there was snow at the rock. Susan drew her wand, melted the snow present on it and dried it for them to sit. Harry was impressed by her dexterity with these handy charms. Susan asked his unanswered question.

"Aunty told that it's good to know a handful of charms useful for daily work. Makes it easy, you know. I like charms, they are interesting, it's fun."

"What don't you like?" Harry asked, a bit amused.

"DADA is not my strong point, same for transfiguration and Magical Creature. Aunty was a bit disappointed when I told her that, she was hoping that I would follow her footsteps. In the end, she was happy when I told her that I wanted to be a healer, 'one less thing to worry about me in future' she said." There was silence for the next minute or two.

"what's your favourite, Harry? Wait a minute, no need to answer, you were top of the class last year in DADA. Aunty would most certainly like that." She was beaming.

"Seems like you are very close to your aunt." Harry asked, he noticed that she always mentioned her aunt in the conversation. Harry didn't want to come to know that she was like Malfoy who gloated about who his father was.

"After my died, she was the only family I had. She is the older sister to my dad; uncle Edgar was the oldest. In the war, we lost my parents, uncle Edgar and my grandparents. She never married so she could give me full attention. She is my ideal, I look up to her. I just want to do something with my life to make her proud." She was smiling but Harry could see the determination in her eyes. He understood where she was coming from. At least they had something in common, they had lost their parents to the war.

"So, Harry, how is your life outside Hogwarts?" She asked, she could see that the smile fell from his face at the question. She knew that she had touched a sore point. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't want to intrude in personal matters."

"It's fine, but can we talk about something else, I don't like to talk about my life." Harry answered, not looking towards her. Susan understood the discomfort he was feeling. She tried to steer the conversation towards more pleasant things. They spoke about quidditch, Harry found out that she wasn't a big fan. She liked to bake and swim, she liked to dance and she was good at it, her words, not Harry's. Apparently, she had formulated a plan to teach Harry how to not crush her toes. She told him that after she was done with him this week, he won't step of from the dance floor, even for quidditch, Harry was doubtful about that proclamation but kept silent.

She was telling him stories about her childhood when Hermione walked towards them. Hermione was a bit apprehensive of them being together, as she saw them laughing while sitting at _their_ rock. She didn't like Susan touching Harry on his arm while talking or laughing.

"Harry, it's time." She called flatly, ignoring Susan completely. He turned towards her and gave her a nod. He bid his farewell to Susan and told her that they would go for practicing after dinner. Susan told Harry to bring his dance shoes with him for the evening. She gave him a peck on cheek and walked away. Harry was completely stunned, he was blushing crimson, he could feel the spot being warm where she kissed him. Hermione had to shake his shoulder to bring him out of his reverie.

They started walking towards the Whomping Willow, Harry could see that something was bugging Hermione. They walked in silence rest of the way. Hermione brought out the invisibility cloak from her purse and wrapped them both with it. They followed the procedure which they did last time. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the Shrieking Shack's bedroom, sitting on a couch, waiting for Remus and Sirius. They both apparated with a crack, a few minutes later.

"Hey kids!" Sirius barked with a wide smile, opening his arms for a hug. Harry hugged him without a moment's hesitation while Hermione greeted Remus. After the greetings were exchanged, Marauders sat at chairs while Harry and Hermione occupied the couch.

Harry and Hermione told them about everything that had taken place since they had last spoken. They told him about the task, the hate mail, the shrieking sound coming from the egg, Yule ball and Harry's date, Hermione didn't mention hers. It took thirty minutes to bring Sirius and Remus to speed. Remus had a blank face while Sirius looked like he was in deep thought.

"What were you doing asking Bones? Why didn't you asked Hermione?" Sirius said, without masking his disapproval. Harry and Hermione blushed a bit at the comment but before they could say anything, Remus spoke.

"I can't blame Harry, padfoot, I remember Susan. She look just like her aunt. And please forgive me if I am wrong but didn't you had a crush on Amelia during your auror days?" Remus asked mischievously, while winking at Harry. Sirius looked like he was slapped on his head, he was doing a good impression of a gold fish.

"I did not, but she was something." Sirius stuttered in response. "That's not the point." He again turned towards Harry. "Why didn't you ask her?"

Both the teenagers were blushing and suddenly found the floorboard interesting. "I, umm….", Harry started to answer but Hermione cut him off. "Someone else asked me before he did. I thought he was going to but he didn't." She answered and folded her hands in front of her, she was looking at him with undecipherable look.

"I was going to but I wasn't sure." Harry replied, his eyes still fixed at the floor. He could feel his face and ears heating up.

"Why?" Sirius asked before Hermione could. It took a minute for Harry to form his answer. "I was not sure Hermione would agree and I didn't want to somehow dent our friendship." Harry answered truthfully.

"HA!" Sirius gave a disapproving laugh. Remus voiced his opinion before he could, "You are thicker than your father." Hermione was silent and was looking from Harry to Sirius and back.

"Can we talk about something else please!" Harry spoke, his pitch higher than his liking.

"Oh!" Hermione suddenly remembered that she had brought the scarfs Harry bought yesterday for the Marauders. She extracted them from the purse and handed them to Harry. He gave the scarfs to the intended person and wished them Merry Christmas. They both looked quite happy after receiving the scarfs.

"I had brought something for you too." He extracted a something on a silver chain and handed it to Harry. It was a silver pocket watch, the lid had an intricate design of a two-headed Griffon sitting on its hind legs and its wings spread, its beaks pointing upwards. In place of eyes, there were rubies. The whole Griffon design was protruding outwards as if metal was carved away from the design. As Harry opened the watch, there was photo of a happy couple, his parent, on the inside of the lid. The dial was ivory made with the numbers written with gold in some runic text. The hands were in the shape of swords which very much resembled the sword of Gryffindor but it was golden.

"Your grandfather gifted this to your father on his wedding. It's a family heirloom. I got it from the Potter vault last week. Don't look surprised!" He said and raised his hand to halt any coming words as the teenagers were looking at him with open mouths.

"I was appointed the caretaker of the Potter vault in case of James and Lily's death." He looked sad as he remembered his old friends. "It took some convincing and a vow to give enough proof to the goblins that I am innocent to allow me to use my vault and oversee yours. They don't care about wizards so they are not going to throw me to the ministry. Don't worry, I am not going to walk down the main street of Diagon Alley." He finished with a broad smile. "Remus will take care of the personal visits. He finally has a job now."

Both the teenagers were looking towards Remus with a satisfactory look, happy for the werewolf. "Where moony?" Hermione asked.

"At home, actually. I am editing books for publishers now, before they go to print. It's not big or fancy but it's enough." Remus replied with a smile.

"I'm happy for you, moony." Harry answered with a smile of his own.

"And Hermione, your gift!" Remus handed her a book, ' _Charming Your Way to Mastery_ ' by Roseline Mackintosh. "It was a first edition, one of the books I edited this year. It will help you in daily use charms."

"Thanks, Moony." Hermione gave an appreciative smile.

They spoke for a couple of hours more, exchanging stories, talking about their school work, possible tasks ahead and general mundane stuff. Sirius was teasing Harry about Susan and Hermione was internally getting worked up. She was still unsure how to approach this stupid insurgent feeling. They bid their farewells and the duo was back in the Gryffindor common room before four o'clock.

-X-X-

Harry was waiting outside the great hall for Susan, they had a dance practice scheduled. He didn't have to wait long, Susan walked towards him wearing a heavy robe to keep out the cold. She waved at him and they turned to walk towards the transfiguration classroom on the east side.

"Hey champ!" someone called from behind. Harry knew who it was because of the term used. They both turned to find Zoe walking towards them, looking pleased with herself.

"Hey Zoe!" Harry answered, Susan just smiled at her. "How are you doing?"

"Doing well, thank you. Got yourself new girlfriend? What happened with Hermione?" She asked casually. Harry blushed at the question, it was a good thing that Susan did not mind Zoe asking it. Harry had to explain it to Susan that Hermione and he were not together.

"I, er…. Hermione and I were not together. Zoe, this is Susan. Susan, meet Zoe." Harry answered and introduced the two. "Susan is my date for the Ball."

"Nice to meet you, you two would look cute together." She replied and walked towards the great hall after a goodbye.

As Harry entered the transfigured ballroom, he noticed that McGonagall had put warming charm on the room. He removed the jacket he was wearing and changed his shoe to the formal one's Molly had purchased for him. Since Sirius had given him the dragonhide vest, Harry had made the habit to wear it all the time under his shirt, he was still wearing it. When he was done tying shoelaces, he looked up to see Susan. His jaw hit the floor when he saw Susan. She had removed the robe, she was wearing a black legging which hugged her toned legs, a grey formfitting tank top over a black long-sleeved t-shirt. Her hair was in a braid behind which she made into a bun on the top of her head. She looked mesmerizing even in something as simple as her outfit. She had to wave her hand in front of his face to bring him out of his daze.

"Like what you see potter?" She asked mischievously, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

"Umm…. I, er…." He was blushing so hard that it made her giggle.

"It's ok, Harry. Stand up, we shouldn't waste time. Ok, now let me explain you something about ballroom dances." She Moved to the centre of the room and turned towards him, her hands clasped in front of her. "in wizarding world, there are two kinds of dances which are preferred, Waltz and Foxtrot. So, we'll learn only those two. Let me see what records are there." She walked towards the gramophone and flipped through the set of records placed there. She picked one from the middle and placed it on the music player.

"We will start with basic Waltz. Now let me teach you the stance and foot movement." She showed him how to stand and how to move and made him practice for ten minutes or so to let him loosen up a bit. She corrected him a few times and monitored his movement. She played the music and walked towards him.

"Now, hold my left hand in your right and place your left one on by back." She saw the look of horror on Harry's face and couldn't stop giggling. "Don't worry Harry, I won't bite." She had to place his hands and positon him perfectly before they can do any movements. Their bodies were too close and it was making Harry uncomfortable, his body was reacting to the contact in ways which were new to him.

Harry was uncomfortable all the time, he was stiff as a stick, Susan had to continuously remind him to loosen his body. This was not helping him avoid stepping on her toes. He was apologizing every time he stepped on her foot, she had to order him to stay quiet. They had to take a break in thirty minutes, Susan had to put a mild pain numbing charm on her toes. They finished the lesson an hour later and Harry walked her to the Hufflepuff common room.

She told him on their way that Hufflepuff common room was closest to the kitchens, she even showed him the entrance to the kitchens. It was just below the great hall behind a painting of a fruit bowl. She told him that to open the doorway hidden behind the painting, they had to press the three peaches in the bowl at the same time. They did not enter the kitchen but Harry decided that he would come and see dobby on Christmas in the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later, they were standing outside a painting of four wizards and witches sitting around a round table, drinking from golden goblets, a pitcher place in the centre of table. She gave the password but before entering, she turned towards Harry and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Harry!" and with that she entered the common room, the painting closing behind her. He was looking at the painting with unfocussed eyes, his hand moved over the spot where her lips touched his cheek. It took a minute before he started walking towards the Gryffindor common room.

He entered the common room with a goofy grin on his face, his mind was still going over the moment he shared with Susan. This wasn't missed by the bushy haired brunette who was sitting on the couch, waiting for Harry. Ron was sitting on the chair on the far side and Neville had occupied the chair opposite to Ron. Harry plopped down on the couch next to Hermione.

"How was your evening?" Hermione could not stop herself from asking him.

"Great, it was great." Hermione's smile faltered a bit at that admission. She was in a way Happy for her best friend but she was still resenting her decision not to wait a bit longer for Harry to ask her to Ball. Hindsight can mess with people's brains, at least it was doing so with Hermione.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow." She rose and walked to the girls' dormitory without another word.

"What's with her?" Harry asked Neville with a questioning look, Neville just shrugged.

Harry realized that Hermione had been behaving a bit odd for the last two weeks, he needed to talk to her and make sure that everything was alright. It won't do to have your best friend worried about something and having no knowledge about it. He would need to corner her to talk to her without any interruptions.

"Harry, how is it going with Susan?" Neville asked him casually, he didn't move his eyes from the book currently open in his lap. Ron on the other hand was busy playing a game of wizard chess against himself. Fellow Gryffindors had started to refuse Ron for chess matches as he would beat them easily and will remind them the next time they play again.

"Good, I guess. Is she always this bubbly?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, Neville just chuckled.

"Yeah, she is quite active all the time and talkative. When we were kids, it was too loud whenever Hannah and Susan came over to play." Neville replied truthfully with a smile.

"You knew her even before school?" Harry asked, his astonishment clear on his face.

"Yeah, my grandma liked Madam Bones since she was a auror trainee, and I told you about Hannah and her mum. So, I was pretty close to both of them. But then we were sorted into different houses, since then I haven't spoken to them that much regularly but we are on friendly terms anyway."

A few minute later they all called it a night and went to the dorm to get the much-needed sleep.

-X-X-

It was during their morning run when they were in the gymnasium, working out when Harry thought it was the right time to broach the subject. She was wearing his jersey from the first task.

"Hermione what is going on with? You seem distracted for past few days." Harry asked, walking towards her, a look of concern and care on his face.

"It's nothing, Harry, really." She tried to stop the discussion before it started.

"Don't insult me by telling that nothing is wrong. I'm your best friend and I notice when something is bothering you." Harry asked, his voice gentle.

She bit her lower lip, which she had been doing a lot this term whenever she was deep in thought. "If you understood me, you would have known it." She answered a bit loudly. She rose from the place she was exercising and started to walk towards the exit. Harry gripped her wrist and turn her so they were looking each other into the eye.

"What's wrong with you, Hermione?" He asked, his temper starting to flare.

She huffed loudly, "what is wrong, you ask me what's wrong with ME! Why don't you tell me Mr. Notice Everything?" She shouted and pulled her arm away from Harry. "Do you have any idea what I want, what I feel?"

Harry's confusion was clear on his face, he could not understand where is she heading with this argument. "Hermione, I'm bad at riddles so please state clearly what's the problem." He tried to ask calmly.

"You! You are the problem you thick-headed dimwit. Are you blind or what? Can't you see I like you or are you dumb enough not to notice anything?" Hermione's voice was so high, if anyone was sitting in the stands of the quidditch pitch, he could have heard her loud and clear.

"What!" 'quite eloquent, Potter', he berated himself for his response. Harry was stunned to the core. How? How is this possible? "You are my best friend, Hermione. Of course, I like you."

She just shook her head, she would need to explain this to the ignorant 'best friend'. "That's what I thought, I'm just the bushy-haired book worm best friend. Good for help in studies and that's it." She had tears in her eyes which were freely rolling down her cheek. She violently wiped them away and ran towards the exit, not looking back even once.

It took a moment for Harry to understand what had happened, he ran towards her and caught her before she could go too far. They were standing halfway between the castle and the quidditch pitch.

"Hermione, please listen to me. I like you but I…. everything is so complicated. I don't exactly know how I feel, what I feel. But please understand, you are the most important person in my life right now, there is no denying it." His brain was running a mile a minute, at the moment his thoughts were more jumbled and mixed up than Hermione's hair after a long day.

She stepped closer to him, invading his personal space, she put her right hand on his cheek and looked him in the eye. Her words were barely above a whisper when she spoke, "Do you feel anything for me?"

Harry leaned into her touch, it felt soothing. "I don't know what to tell you Hermione. It's difficult to explain, I want to be with you, there is this niggling feeling when I'm not with you. I was feeling bad when I couldn't ask you before Krum did. I am not sure what it is Hermione and I just don't want to lose the friendship we have."

Hermione took one more step and threw her arms around him. She was hugging him with the intent of never letting him go. She was imagining torturing his relatives for disabling his understanding of any positive emotion. She would need to explain a lot of things to Harry but the most important would be how to go about this thing.

"Harry, if I ask you to answer me truthfully, would you like to be my boyfriend?" She asked him, still not braking the embrace. Her nose was nuzzling his neck, sending a shiver up and down his spine. It wasn't like the one he gets when a dementor is near, it was warm and welcoming. But he could not enjoy it fully at the moment, he had a very important question to answer. His mouth and throat had suddenly gone dry as desert, he was unable to form any coherent thought or turn any thought into words. Now Hermione was getting anxious as Harry was taking too much time to answer, she was berating herself to put him in this precarious position.

"Harry, whatever you say, we will always be best friends, I will always be by your side, no matter what happens." She had to reassure him that he will always be able to count on her.

"I would like it very much." He answered while breaking the embrace and leaning away from her so he could look into her eyes. He saw the deep affection she held for him, that affection was reciprocated and reflected in his own eyes. Hermione was certain that it was something, how deep the feelings were would be a question for future.

Hermione knew that they would need to talk and discuss a hell lot more about their relationship but right now they both were at peace with each other. The only problem was to explain their current situation to their present dates. They knew, it was going to be a headache but they had to do it.

"What are we going to do about Susan and Krum?" Harry asked, his expressions resembling that of guilt.

"There is nothing we can do but explain our situation. We should talk to them together, maybe we can get them together." Hermione suggested.

They returned to the common room, Hermione sent a note to Krum to wait for her outside the great hall after dinner. Harry already had his dance lesson planned with Susan. The day was filled with anxiety regarding the confrontation they had scheduled for the evening.

After the dinner, both Harry and Hermione waited for Krum and Susan to step out of the great hall. Susan was first to arrive, she didn't give any reaction about seeing Hermione there even if she was surprised. They had to wait a couple of minutes for Krum to arrive, he did not try to mask his disappointment on seeing Harry and Susan standing alongside Hermione.

Harry led them to the transfigured ballroom and they sat at the chairs on the side of the dance floor. Harry waited a minute to gather his thoughts so that he could break the news without hurting Susan.

"We have something to tell you and we hope that you would be understanding of the situation." He looked at Hermione, urging her to continue.

"We…. We can't go to Yule Ball with you." She was avoiding looking at their faces, her voice was apologetic and filled with guilt. "We're truly sorry but situation is a bit complicated."

Susan had a look that told them that she was deeply hurt, Krum on the other hand was shocked and furious. They both were looking at the person other than their dates.

"We just wanted to apologize about it, it was not our intention to hurt you and we didn't want to ruin your evening by not giving you our full attention. Things have changed a bit since we agreed." Hermione continued her thoughts.

"Wat 'as changed 'Mione?" Krum asked in an angry tone.

"I'm…. I mean we are", she pointed towards Harry and herself, "together."

"It happened this morning and we want to go together but we don't want to ruin your evening completely. I hope we can come to an understanding." Harry answered the unasked question.

The look of disbelief on Susan's face would have been funny in another situation but right now it was dead-serious. Krum had steeled his features to hide any emotion he was feeling. He just turned on his heel and left without another word. Susan just sat there dumbfounded, she could not understand what to do, how to react, she just stared at the new couple. Harry was feeling guilty about his actions so he threw an olive branch towards her.

"I am genuinely sorry for my actions and to apologize for it I will take you to Hogsmeade on the next visit for a date. I promise and this one I intend to keep." Susan was looking at him wide eyed while Hermione was giving him a glare.

Finally, Susan smiled and accepted his apology. She extended her friendship and told him that she does not hold any ill will towards either of them and she hope Harry could save a dance for her. For her acceptance, Hermione told her that Harry would walk both of them down the aisle if she did not get a date. Now it was Harry's turn to glare at her. Susan shook Harry's hand and gave Hermione a hug, she moved her lips closer to Hermione's ear and whispered something which made Hermione a bit uneasy and threw Susan in a giggling fit. She left the new couple a minute later.

"Why would you do that?" Harry asked, he was miffed with her decision to walk both of them down the aisle.

"That was my answer to you taking her on a date, Potter. We are even now." She answered with a smug smile and stepped closer to him.

"What did she tell you before leaving that made you squirm?" Harry asked with a mischievous smile.

"She threatened to steal you if I ever left you. I am not planning on doing that." Harry was shocked to see this side of the bookish brunette. She did not let him ponder for long as she dragged him on the dance floor and turned on the gramophone with a flick of her wand. She moved Harry and herself in the position and they danced for a few minutes, blissfully ignorant to the world outside their room. The dance was a bit awkward as Harry was a terrible dancer and stepped quite a few times on Hermione's toes. She had to lead him to make sure her toes survive the day. They did not speak for the duration of the song, they simply enjoyed the moment of peace they finally got.

-X-X-

Hermione had yet to discuss the extent of their relationship with Harry. She was sure that she was not the only one uncertain about where their relationship stood. They needed to have a serious discussion and Hermione knew that they can't postpone it for very long.

It had been three days since they spoke to Krum and Susan, the junior students had left the castle for the winter break that morning. The Gryffindor common room and the castle on the whole was half full now. Harry had ordered a corsage of white jasmine and ivory rose for Hermione and changed his lapel pin to a long-stemmed ivory rose the previous day, Hermione was surprised when he asked what colour her dress was, she told him it was coincidentally emerald. Harry knew that roses and jasmine were her favourite flowers.

For the past three days, the new Gryffindor couple was rarely seen separated. It wasn't new and wasn't unexpected but they were both enjoying just being together. It was surprise for Harry when Hermione continued Harry's dance lesson. She wasn't as good as Susan but she was good enough to teach him the basics of how not to crush her toes.

They were going for their morning runs, having meals together, spending any free time they had with each other, either in the library or in the common room. There was continuous snowfall for the last two days which made it almost impossible to go out of the castle. The days before Christmas flew by like sand in a storm, without any trace and without any significance. It was Christmas eve already. They both walked towards the stairs leading to the dorms and Hermione gave him a peck on the cheek, wished him goodnight and climbed the stairs towards the dorm.

-X-X-

Harry ran down the stairs towards the common room with two gift boxes in his hand, one was significantly larger than the second one. The moment he stepped into the common room, he spotted the brown-haired friend of his, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, a gift box in her left hand.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione." Harry ran up to her and gave her a tight hug, she reciprocated in kind.

"Merry Christmas, Harry." She replied excitedly. Harry gave her the two gifts he had got for her. She took them and gave her own gift to Harry which he accepted with a smile.

Harry let Hermione open her gifts first. She decided to open the bigger one first. It was a set of old leather bound tomes related to charms and runes, their binding tearing at the sides. She remembered mentioning them to Harry in passing a few weeks ago, she was a bit surprised that he remembered them. All she could say was a mumbled 'thank you' and a genuine smile which should convey the feeling.

The second gift was a flat box covered in plain scarlet paper and tied up with a golden ribbon bow. She meticulously opened the ribbon and remove the paper so that there was no tearing. It was a black velvet jewellery box, she looked at Harry with wide eyes, trying to tell him that he had gone overboard with it. She knew that the books themselves were very old and collectibles and hence would have cost him a fortune. If he had in fact bought her jewellery, it was really too much. She wanted to protest but before she could say anything, Harry put his hand on her shoulder in a very assuring manner, ending all possible arguments.

She opened the lid of the velvet box, there was the silver locket with the book pendant propped by the velvet casing. She gently removed as if her touch could damage the intricate design on the jewellery.

"This is gorgeous." She commented, her eyes fixed on the pendant. She dropped the empty jewellery box on the couch, gave the locket to Harry and turned around so he could place it around her neck. Harry moved the bushy mane of hers to the side and clasped the ends on the chain around her neck. Hermione turned back and threw her arms around his neck in a desperate attempt to bring him even closer, there was not enough space for air to pass between them.

"Thank you, Harry. It really is gorgeous." She punctuated her response with a kiss on his cheek which turned his face pink.

"The actual beauty is inside, Hermione." Harry whispered in her ear. She slowly drew back from the hug and opened the locket to find the picture of them seating under the tree in their blissful solitude. Her eyes threatened to tear with emotions of joy and contentment. Harry threw his arm around her shoulder to bring her in a one arm hug, she was still holding the locket with both her hands. Finally, her eyes moved to the other side of the locket, the message ('With Love, From HJP') started the tears to flow down her cheek steadily. Harry gently rubbed them away with the thumb of his free hand, he understood that the gift made her emotional in a good way. He could see the broad smile present on her face that told him that she liked the gift. It took a minute for her to get back her composure.

Now it was Harry's turn to open the gift, he opened the gift box to find a rolled canvas with a silver ribbon tying it. He extracted it, removed the ribbon and unrolled it, it was a family tree of Potter family for the last four generations. Each member had their small portrait or photo attached on it with their names, date of birth and date of demise. Every member was connected to the adjacent one by a branch of holly. He was dumbstruck, his eyes were welling with tears. Now he held the piece that showed what Voldemort had taken from him that fateful night, all those years back. The link of normalcy which was destroyed by the actions of a madman. Hermione stepped closer to him and engulfed him in a hug from behind, her chin resting on his left shoulder.

"Remus and Sirius helped me in making this. They gave me the paintings and photos of your ancestors from your family vault." Hermione answered the question that was bubbling inside Harry.

"Thanks Hermione, that's the most thoughtful gift anyone has given me." He answered, his teary eyes still fixed on the family tree.

Hermione told him to wait for her and ran up to her dormitory to keep her gift safe in her trunk. She returned in a minute, Harry was still focussed on the gift he received from Hermione.

"Where do you want to put it?" She asked and sat on the couch next to him.

"I don't know, I have no idea." Harry answered truthfully.

"You can put it on the inside of the trunk." She suggested. "You can decide later. Put it in your trunk and come back, it's time for the run."

Five minutes later, the couple was on the school ground running towards the quidditch pitch. It didn't take them much time to start their routine exercises in the gymnasium. An hour later, they were walking towards the castle, completely exhausted. On their way back they saw Hagrid coming out of the castle so they decided to wish him.

"Hey Hagrid, merry Christmas." They spoke in unison.

"Merry Christmas, yeh two." He replied and hugged both of them together in a tight hug that left no space for air in their lungs. Hagrid released them from the torture very soon.

"How are you doing, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. Since the article came out, Hagrid was very reserve and even during the classes, he was not that enthusiastic about the subject as earlier. It took a few days and a couple of visits by headmaster and both of them to get his spirits back to where they belonged.

"Dear Ol' me iz doin jus' fine. Would yeh like to come for tea?" Hagrid asked with a genuine smile of his own, this feature was missing for quite some time from the behaviour of the half giant.

"We would love to. We'll see you after breakfast Hagrid." Harry spoke and they started to walk back to the Gryffindor common room. They had too much to do today.

"What do you want to do today, Harry?" Hermione asked, once they reached the common room.

"Uh…. I wanted to go to the kitchen after breakfast so I can personally hand dobby his gift. Then we have to go to Hagrid's, after lunch I wanted to open the other gifts. Then maybe we could go out afterwards and have some fun. What were you planning?"

"Well apart from what you said, I wanted to make a snowman."

An hour later, the couple was standing in front of the kitchen portrait of fruit bowl. Harry explained how to go through the portrait and let Hermione try it. She pressed the three peaches which revealed the hall behind the portrait.

It was the exact replica of the great hall but longer and less high. There were for long tables present which most probably were aligned to the ones in the great hall. They entered a few feet behind the teachers' table, on the other end of the hall was multiple cauldrons and pans were placed on fire. The hall was filled with aroma of many spices and under preparation food. The moment they entered, six house-elves pushed and dragged them to one of the four long tables and sat them. Dobby appeared a moment later wearing ridiculously colourful socks that can put a hippy to shame. He was also wearing a scarf and some hats, his bat like ears were pointed sideward due to the hats. He had the most contagious smile and the excitement of a child in a toy store, he was literally dancing with excitement.

"What can dobby do for Mr. Harry Potter Sir and Ms. Grangy?" Dobby asked with bubbling excitement.

"Merry Christmas my friend!" Harry leaned forward and hugged the free elf, he released him and handed him the pair of socks he had bought for him, Hermione followed the suit. This show of affection brought happy tears to the fore of the elf.

"Dobby is Harry Potter's friend?" He asked, his eyes filled with gratitude, Harry just nodded and smiled. "Harry Potter is great wizard, you too Ms. Grangy. Dobby bring cake for his friends." Dobby ran towards the other end and passed through a door. He returned with a big cake that could feed four people. Harry and Hermione were both full with the breakfast they had a few minutes ago, and they did not want to refuse Dobby so they asked him to pack the cake which the elf did without any hesitation. Before they rose to leave, they saw an elf lying by the fireplace in blue frock and a pointy hat. A few empty glass bottles were rolling around the elf, Hermione looked towards Dobby with a questioning look.

"Miss, its Winky, her master freed her, Winky don't like being free. She is sad so she drinks." He answered with a morose expression.

They remembered the name, hell, the incident was etched into their memory as if it was yesterday.

"Miss, she wants a family. Winky losing her magic. She don't want to live without family."

Hermione looked at Harry for any solution, he was a bit surprised that she was expecting him to provide a solution. An idea struck him.

"Dobby, get Winky sobered up and ask her to go to Mrs. Weasley. I think they both will be able to help each other." Harry instructed the little elf who nodded his head very enthusiastically. They said their goodbyes to the elf, picked up the cake and left the kitchen to visit Hagrid.

It was a pleasant morning at Hagrid's; between tea, cake and Hagrid's rock muffins they spoke about everything at length. They shared stories and talked about the first task in particular and dragons in general. They bid their farewells before lunch and went to the common room. Harry wanted to pick up Susan's gift so he can give it himself after lunch.

It was just after lunch when Harry asked Susan to step out of great hall so they can talk in private, Hermione accompanied Harry to the entrance hall. They stepped into a corridor which was empty except for a few students walking towards their destination.

Harry extracted a flat rectangular velvet box which was smaller than Hermione's and passed it to Susan.

"Susan, I wanted to apologies for messing things up. It's just a token to show that I'm really sorry." He looked apologetic.

"Oh Harry, it's beautiful and completely unnecessary. Although you would need to walk me down the aisle as I'm still without a date." She answered with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh." Harry paled a bit but recovered quickly. "Ok then, I will see you in the entrance hall before eight o'clock."

-X-X-

Harry-Hermione were sitting in the common room, this time at a corner table. Their gifts were on the table and they were in the process of opening them one by one. Harry received a Weasley jumper Mrs. Weasley, it was emerald green with a red dragon on the front. His muggle relatives had sent him used shoelaces, he just floated them in to the fire at the fireplace. Dobby had given him a pair of mismatched socks, one was maroon with a golden snitch on it, the second was violet with a white owl on it. There was a brown cardboard box also which was delivered by the florist this morning, it had a set of corsage and a lapel pin flower.

At four in the afternoon, snacks appeared on the tables in the Gryffindor common room as the dinner would be postponed to eight in the night. Hermione went to her dormitory around half past four to get ready. Harry indulged into chess, he played couple of games and around six, Harry left the common room to get ready.

A/N: Sorry to make it too sweet, I almost gagged when I read it after writing. But to keep it on track, it was necessary to get the pair together before things get even more complicated. I can assure you that their love story won't be a piece of cake. I will try to keep it as realistic as I can while maintaining the fantasy fiction genre.

Please Review.


	10. B1: Chapter 10 - Yule Ball

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: A couple of chapters, including this one, will be slow paced and the story may seem a bit stagnant but once we reach to the second task, it would be action only.

Please review.

Chapter Ten: The Yule Ball

Harry was waiting at the bottom of the stairs of the dormitory. He was wearing his deep emerald suit under which he was wearing a deep violet tuxedo shirt and emerald bow tie. His family heirloom of a watch was safely placed in the pocket of his vest. The long-stemmed ivory rose lapel pin he had ordered from the florist was in its place. He had tried his best to keep his hair under control, it took fifteen minutes to give them any semblance of order. His black leather shoes were polished to the extent that he could see his reflection in it. He was wearing a emerald cloak over his suit, not because he wanted to but because it was a necessity in a formal setting. He had been waiting for Hermione for last thirty minutes and there was no sign of her. He was getting impatient as the time drew closer to the specified hour at which the champions will walk down the aisle to the central table.

It was quarter to eight when Hermione finally descended the stair. Harry's breath caught into his chest as he laid eyes on her. If Harry said that she was beautiful, it would have been the biggest understatement of the century. She was breath-taking, she was absolutely mesmerizing, she was stunning without a doubt. She was wearing an emerald strapless mermaid dress with light silver frills covering the heart shaped neckline, the sleeves were of silver lace and reached up to her wrist. She was wearing the locket he gave her this morning, she had ring shaped silver earrings with a small emerald at the bottom. A silver coloured shawl was draped around her to cover her back and shoulders, the ends were rolled around her forearm.

Harry offered her the corsage he had selected for her, she moved her left hand forward so he could tie the corsage on her wrist. Once the corsage was in place, Harry offered his left hand so they can go to the great hall, she graciously accepted and they walked out of the common room, towards the great hall. Harry still held the box with the second corsage inside it in his right hand. As they stepped into the entrance hall, professor McGonagall stepped towards them.

"You are late Mr. Potter. And you look beautiful Ms. Granger." McGonagall commented and instructed them to stand with the other champions. Other students were hurriedly entering the great hall or busy finding their dates in the crowded entrance hall. Harry saw Susan standing to a side. He told Hermione that he would get Susan here and left.

Susan was in a strapless violet full length dress; the dress was simple with frills below the waist. Her red hair which bordered on crimson were in a double fishtail bun, she was wearing the locket he had given her this morning.

"Good evening, Ms. Bones. You look beautiful." Harry said with a slight bow and a good-natured smile.

"Why thank you, Mr. Potter and good evening to you too." She replied with a curtsy of her own.

Harry opened the box and retrieved the corsage, offering it to Susan. She extended her left hand towards him so he could tie it. She told him that she would see him inside the great hall afterwards and left him with a smile and a departing wave of hand.

Once every student was inside the great hall, the large oak doors to the great hall closed and the champions were the only ones, present in the entrance halls with their dates.

"Where is Susan?" Hermione asked when she did not come back with Harry.

"She said she would meet us inside." Harry answered. Their conversation was cut short as McGonagall instructed them to form a line. Once they were in the line, she started to arrange them properly.

At the head of the line were Cedric and Cho. Cedric was in a traditional black wizarding robe, Cho was in a pale blue full length gown. She had an open hairdo with a few strands pulled behind to make a small bow. Her dress had a low V neck line which accentuated her feminine curves perfectly.

Behind them stood Fleur Delacour with Roger Davies. Roger Davies was the Head Boy this year, he belonged to Ravenclaw. Similar to Cedric, he was in a traditional black wizarding robe. Fleur was wearing a silver coloured backless and strapless dress, her silver hair in a French braided bun. Davies was openly staring at her date as if still shocked that he was accompanying the French beauty.

The next in line was Krum and Zoe, it was a bit surprising that the two champions were together for the evening. Krum was wearing a scarlet coloured robe with black slacks and knee high black leather boots. Zoe was in a black dress robes, the shoulders of the dress a bit puffed, the waist down part of the dress was made of multi-layered lace.

Behind the 'champion' couple stood the Japanese champion and his date. Kenechi was wearing the formal black robes of traditional Japanese attire with a white shirt. His date, who was most probably a Mahoutokoro student, was wearing a white traditional Japanese dress.

At the end of the line stood the youngest couple. Harry was a bit nervous and so was Hermione as any minute now they would be walking down the middle of the great hall with every eye watching their every move. He hated the attention and at moment, even more so.

McGonagall walked in the great hall and the doors swung closed once again. A minute later they opened to reveal the decorated Great Hall. It looked like a ballroom made of snow and glass, on each side of the hall were twelve tall Christmas trees made of ice. The trees were decorated with white themes decorations and snow fairies. The enchanted ceiling was filled with snow clouds which showered snowflakes and light on the great hall. The long house tables were replaced by many round ones, white tablecloth completely covering the wooden article. The stony floor was replaced with shiny white marble with a layer of glassy polish. The raised platform at the opposite end of the hall was replaced by a stage.

The moment champions entered the hall, everyone present, started clapping, the applause was more formal as there was no whistling or shouting involved. It seemed like everyone was trying to be on their best formal and aristocratic behaviour. In the middle of the applause, the champions and their companions reached the head table where the headmasters and headmistresses of the participating school stood alongside Mr. Crouch, Mr. Fudge and Mr. Bagman. All of them were dressed in the best of the formal robes as was expected of them. Mr. Crouch looked quite weary as if he hadn't slept for days, his hairs greying black hair were completely replaced by grey ones. As Harry shook his hands, he could feel that there was not enough strength left in man. Their table was oval shaped, its elongated side across the length of the hall. Harry sat on the opposite end to the Heads and Officials. Hermione was on his left and the date to the Japanese champion on his right. Dumbledore sat in the middle of the table, facing the great hall. Fudge sat at the head position on the left-hand side of the hall with Bagman on his left and Crouch on his right.

The conventional golden cutlery was replaced by silver ones and instead of golden goblets, the table had crystal goblets. In front of the empty plates, stood the menu card for the evening. Dumbledore stood from his position, his arms wide open in an inviting manner.

"Let's begin the feast." He sat down with those words. Harry wasn't sure about what to do next as the food did not appear with those words. He watched Dumbledore as he picked up the menu and tapped it with his wand. The moment the tip of his wand touched the menu, food appeared in his plate. Harry followed the steps and tapped the menu twice, his plate was filled with roasted chicken legs and Aubergine Parmigiana the next moment. Hermione followed the suit and busied themselves in the dinner. They shared a polite conversation with the Japanese champion and his date Hayami Akiyama. Hermione was very interested in learning more about the Japanese wizarding society and education system. Harry needed to repeatedly nudge her in the ribs to make sure that she finished her dinner. Half an hour later, the plates were replaced with an assortment of desserts consisting tarts, trifle and pies. Mr. Crouch left even before the desserts arrived, it looked like he was ill. They saw Fudge nodding in understanding and gesturing him to leave. Harry noticed Dumbledore watching the exchange curiously, his eyes had that unnatural gleam.

At the stroke of nine, Dumbledore rose and with him rose every one present in the great hall. With a wave of his hand, half the dinner table vanished and the remaining moved towards the far side of the hall. The head table melted onto the floor and formed a silver coloured circular dance floor, its diameter just short of the width of the room. Every stepped off the dance floor, except the champions and their partners. A moment later, the band stepped onto the stage with their instruments. Every champion and their partners stood in the stance to dance. It was show time.

They began a slow melodic piece on the string quartet and so it began. It took a minute to Harry to get comfortable but Hermione's presence certainly helped. It was a good thing that in his nervousness he did not step on her toes too many times and Hermione was grateful for it. As the piece ended five minutes later and the next piece began, others also joined the champions on the floor. Before the night began, Harry had decided that they would dance for a couple of songs and then sit out but by the end of the second song, Harry had started to enjoy himself. After another two songs, Hermione had to remind him of the promise he made to Susan and the couple walked towards the tables where a few students sat, Susan was one of them. Harry asked her for a dance, the offer was accepted with a smile and they walked back towards the floor. In the meantime, Hermione went to get a drink for herself and returned to the seat vacated by Susan.

A minute or so later, none other than Ronald Weasley walked up to her and took the next seat. He was wearing a ridiculous looking old dress robe which had frills and ruffles everywhere, it looked more like a witch's robe rather than a wizard's. He had a pained expression on his face which spelled 'guilt' more clearly than a chalk piece on a blackboard.

"Hermione, I seriously want to apologize about my behaviour these past months. I am sorry, it pains me sometime to see you to struggling alone. I just feel guilty, like I abandoned you two." She could feel the guilt in his voice and the hope that there was a chance at forgiveness.

"It won't erase what you did Ron and I am not going to tell you that it's alright because it's not." Hermione answered in a stern voice.

"I just hope that I could do something to gain your forgiveness."

"Promise never to break his trust again Ron." Hermione replied, looking directly in his eyes.

"Where is your date, Ron?" Hermione asked, she could see the discomfort he was experiencing.

"Padma? We had a small argument. She is dancing with some Durmstrang bloke." He answered in an embarrassed tone, his eyes downcast. Ron squirmed and fidgeted for a few second before gathering his courage. "Hermione, can I ask you for a dance?"

It took Hermione by surprise and she thought for a moment before answering. Ron was looking nervous and she was taking guilty pleasure in making him feel so. She dropped the play and agreed for a dance.

As they stepped on the dance floor, Hermione's eyes were searching for Harry. As their eyes met across the dance floor, he gave her an understanding smile which made her inside filled with warmth. Ron was not an awful dancer, contrary to Hermione's expectation. He was jovial and gentlemanly for the duration of the dance and the next one. After the next song ended, Harry stepped towards them and extended his right hand, "May I have my date back?"

Ron gave him a smile and released her hand which was then gripped by Harry. Hermione was back in his arms and they were again lost in their own small islandic world. After the song ended, professor Flitwick stepped on the stage and everyone turned to look at the diminutive professor. The musician behind him walked down the stage and into the anteroom.

"Tonight, we have a special guest who would be performing in front of us. So, please welcome, _'Weird Sisters'_!" Flitwick announced and grey coloured smoke covered the stage. The excited noises and applause were loud enough to be heard in Hogsmeade.

The smoke settled in a few seconds to reveal the band of six. They began their performance with an upbeat, fast paced song that got everyone jumping up and down the dance floor, throwing the occupants of great hall in a frenzy.

"Want to go out of here?" Harry whispered in Hermione's ear amidst all the noises. She nodded in response and the couple walked out of the great hall towards the lawn on the right which had a fountain in the centre. The fountain was square shaped one, every corner had a large swan standing on its legs facing inwards, their beaks pointing skywards. Due to extreme winter, the water was frozen in the air, forming a ball of ice above the centre of the fountain where the water streams would have collided. The lawn was covered in freshly fallen snow, the border of the lawn had waist high bushes which were also covered in snow. For the occasion, many Hogwarts carriages were housed in the lawn and many couples were enjoying them being there.

As the couple walked towards the lawn, they could hear two man talking; one of them sounded extremely angry and the other one was indifferent. Harry stopped Hermione and they hid in a dark alcove near the end of the passage so Harry could hear them talk.

One of them was wearing a black robe, he had black hair which fell on the side of his face. He was one by one, opening the doors to the carriages and deducting points from the students who were found sitting inside, indulging in amorous activities. Harry could identify the man even in dark, it was the dreaded potion master, Severus Snape. The other man, who was angrily shouting at Snape was the Durmstrang Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.

"Do you not understand, Severus, what it means?" Igor asked, walking one step behind Snape.

"I don't know what is your problem, Igor." Snape answered in his flat tone.

"The mark, it's getting darker. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the prickling yet." He tried to grab Snape's left arm but he jerked it away.

"Keep your hands away Igor. You are just being paranoid." Snape answered, looking a bit angry but his sneer was still in place.

"Don't behave like an ostrich, Severus." With that, Igor walked away from Snape and towards the great hall. It was their luck that the passage was dark otherwise Harry and Hermione would surely be in trouble for eavesdropping on Snape. a minute later, Snape walked through the passage towards the great hall.

"What were they talking about?" Harry asked Hermione, once Snape was out of earshot. He had this nagging feeling that something was very wrong. He understood the words but the meaning behind them alluded him. Hermione was no better, it was a different thing to have in-depth knowledge of the subject and a completely different thing to solve a grand puzzle in minutes without any clue. She was intelligent and quick-learner but she was no Sherlock Holmes.

"We can talk about it later. There are more important things to take care right now." She answered while shaking all the questions that stemmed from the conversation they heard a minute ago.

As Harry started to walk away from the alcove, Hermione jerked his arm to stop him. He turned towards her with a questioning look, she just raised her eyes upwards. There was a mistletoe hanging from the edge of the alcove, just above their heads.

Harry felt a bit uncomfortable as the understanding dawned on him and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Harry, don't worry. We don't need to." She understood that it would be very difficult for Harry to express his affections through physical interactions due to his upbringing. She blamed his relatives and so did Harry. She just shook her head and gave Harry a kiss on the edge of his mouth. Harry froze momentarily but relaxed as she moved her lips away, it was a heart-warming feeling and Harry instantly liked it but he was a bit hesitant so he just leaned forwards and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Hermione, you are the best person in my live." These words filled her with intense joy and she threw herself onto Harry. They stood there for minutes, just holding each other into their arms, enjoying the feeling of closeness, breathing in the scent of the other. It was certain that the feeling was intoxicating. They returned to the normal world a few minute later and Harry proposed to return to the great hall which Hermione readily accepted.

It was just before eleven when they entered the great hall, the corridors had more people than the great hall. The band was playing a very slow and romantic piece. The Gryffindor couple stepped on the dance floor, Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and Harry wrapped his arms around her waist. They swayed gently with the music, they were lost in each other's eyes, Harry's forehead resting on Hermione's, they could feel the warmth of each other's breath on their face. It was the serenity, the peace of the moment in which they were in their own little world.

-X-X-

The evening ended just before midnight as the musician walked down the stage and students started to trickle away. As Harry and Hermione were leaving the great hall, they saw Moody leaving the castle from the main entrance, collar of his body-length leather jacket pulled upwards. A moment later somebody called for Harry from behind. They saw Cedric walking towards them as they turned around.

"Harry, can I talk to you, in private?" He asked, while glancing towards Hermione. Harry nodded and the two champions walked towards one of the passages.

"Have you found the clue in the egg?" Cedric asked.

"Just the shriek." Harry answered truthfully.

"You helped me with the dragons so I thought I should return the favour."

"No problem, anybody would have done the same."

"Exactly, do you know about the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor?" Harry shook his head in answer. "Take the egg and think while sitting in hot bath. Password is 'Pine fresh'." Cedric walked away with a smile which Harry could not understand the meaning of, same as the words he had said. How can taking a bath give him any clue about the task. He decided that he would worry about it later. He held Hermione's hand and the couple walked towards the common room in complete harmony. They were enjoying each other's company in the quiet, moonlit passages of the ancient castle as they walked towards their destination. The only words spoken were the password to the portrait of the 'Fat Lady'. The common room was largely deserted so the couple went and sat in the loveseat in the corner of the room, away from being seen by anyone entering through the portrait.

They sat there cuddled, with Hermione's head resting on Harry's shoulder and his arms wrapped around her in a very protective way. Her hands rested on Harry's arms which were around her stomach. They fell asleep in this position.

Ron came into the common room thirty minutes later when he saw that Harry's bed was empty. The scene that greeted him was completely unexpected as he saw the couple snuggled into each other, fast asleep. He went back to the dormitory and brought Harry's blanket from his bed and draped it over the sleeping couple. He took a step back and took the in the closeness they shared and how comfortable they looked with each other. He was unaware of the eyes watching him from the stairs, Neville understood after seeing Ron that he really missed being a part of Harry and Hermione's life. He archived the information to be told to Harry in future and walked back to the dormitory before Ron could see him.

-X-X-

He was back again in the dark room in the Manor. The only light in the room was due to the dying embers in the fireplace. The younger one was kneeling in front of the chair, he was clad in a full-length leather jacket.

"My lord, the boy is through to the next one. I made sure tonight that he would get the hint for the second one." The kneeling man said in his voice which filled with a sense of accomplishment and dedication.

"Well done, my servant. But do not become complacent, the work is not yet complete." The man…. The thing in the chair said in the raspy, hissing voice.

"I will complete the mission, master. The boy will be in front of you, I promise."

"I expect nothing else from you."

"Forgive me master but my father looked like he was not under control."

"You don't need to worry yourself about that. Don't ever question me future!" The snakelike voice spoke in a vicious manner.

"Yes master."

"Leave now and don't return unless something important happens." The man bowed and left the room. "It's my feeding time Wormtail."

-X-X-

"Harry, wake up!" Hermione was shaking Harry's shoulder to wake him up. He was thrashing in pain as if he was in a fit. He was drenched in cold sweat. It took a minute for Hermione to understand what was happening but she caught up with the fact that he was having one of his nightmares.

He opened his eyes, his expressions were that of fear and confusion. It took a moment for him to recognize the person in front of him. He calmed down when Hermione brought him into a tight embrace, she buried his face into her chest and gently rocked him back and forth to calm him down. It took a minute for Harry to get himself under control. He gently pushed Hermione away so he can look at the face.

"Thank you, Hermione." He answered, a look of relief present on his face. He saw that she was about to ask about what he saw but he was not in the right frame of mind to tell her and it was late. He checked the watch and it was two in the morning. "Later, Hermione. It's already very late."

He stood up from the seat, picked up the fallen blanket and they moved to the bottom of the stairs leading to the dorms. He knew that most probably it was Neville or maybe Ron who draped the blanket, he would thank the boy tomorrow. Harry leaned in and gently kissed her at the edge of her mouth and muttered 'goodnight' before climbing up the stairs towards the boys' dorm.

"Goodnight Harry" she said to the leaving form of Harry Potter. Her mind was anxious to know what he saw in the dream but it was now drifting towards happy thoughts which stemmed from the great evening they just enjoyed a couple of hours back. She walked back to her dorm, changed into her pyjama and slipped under the blankets.

-X-X-

December 31, 1994

 **TEENAGERS' LOVE TRIANGLE**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _This Christmas Day, Hogwarts hosted the traditional Yule Ball for the ongoing Wizards' Tournament. The beauty of the venue was breath-taking as our readers can see in the photograph above. According to the tournament's handbook, Yule Ball is an opportunity for the schools and their students to mingle in the hope to further the cause of international cooperation in the next generation of the wizarding world._

 _Source inside the school paint a picture which indicates that this goal can be far from achievable with the present circumstances. It was brought in my notice that the news this dedicated reporter had unearthed was most certainly true._

 _Sources have confirmed that the Durmstrang Champion, Victor Krum asked Ms. Hermione Granger, a plain looking ambitious muggleborn witch, to be her date for the Yule Ball to which she happily agreed; prompting her boyfriend to ask a Hufflepuff year mate to accompany him to the event. This arrangement changed a couple of days before the Ball as Mr. Krum was informed by Ms. Granger that she won't be accompanying him. It was not a surprise when people saw who the date to the youngest champion was; readers will be correct in assuming it was none other than Ms. Granger. I hope the girl asked by Mr. Potter is not totally devastated by the turn of events._

 _This humble reporter who serves to bring truth to the world is befuddled by the ambitious and vicious nature of this muggleborn witch who is playing with the affections of two of the most famous teenaged celebrities of European wizarding community. I want to ask our readers, have we become so soulless that we have accepted this kind of heartless behaviour without protest._

"I just want to choke her with my hands, I want to strangle in her sleep." Hermione was shouting as she read the article. It was published in the recent edition of 'Witch's Weekly' which came out yesterday. Lavender happily supplied the copy with a smug face.

"it's ok, Hermione. I don't care what they write about either of us, I know you and we know what's going on; and that's all that matters." Harry answered, he was having difficulty in keeping his temper under control but he knew that it will do no good to lose his temper when Hermione was also on the edge. "Come on, I have something to tell you."

They sat at the table in a corner of the common room, facing each other; the golden egg was on the table between them. Harry told her the advice he received from Cedric after the Yule Ball. She was uncertain herself, unsure as if it could be a prank. A few minutes of discussion later they came to the conclusion that it won't harm to try this option as at the moment their only clue is the shrill noise that comes from the egg when opened.

"I will go tonight and try it." Harry said after a few minutes of pondering.

"Why can't I come?" Hermione asked with a questioning look. The look she was giving him indicated that she was somewhat slighted that Harry refused her help point blank.

"It's not like I don't need your help, Hermione; I will be running back to you the moment I get the clue. It's just…. Look it's a bath and it might get uncomfortable and awkward." Harry said with a blush creeping upwards his face; the moment Hermione understood the objection, she was blushing furiously.

"Ok, Ok. Just tell me whenever you return." Hermione replied, trying to get the image of them together in the bath out of her mind. _'God, what's wrong with me?'_ She chided herself internally.

Harry was walking towards the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor. He came to know that the entrance to the bathroom was through a portrait of a mermaid, sitting on a rock in the centre of the black lake with Hogwarts in the background. The portrait as well as the mermaid was beautiful, no doubt about that. Harry gave the password and entered the room to find a bathtub big enough to be called a swimming pool.

The pool was somewhat rectangular with the side facing the door being semi-circular, the opposite side of the pool looked like it was completely made of colourful glass pieces, the mosaic was designed so that it resembled the inside of the black lake. This side of the wall had a small altar like platform from which many taps were protruding. The sides of the room had marble benches closer to the taps and changing rooms closer to the entrance. Harry stepped closer to the altar, there were four lines of taps, each in a different coloured metal, blue-green-red-yellow. Each line had a valve on the side, Harry tapped the valves one by one with his wand to check which one provided hot water.

It turned out that the blue taps were for colt water, green one for a scented bath which had no bubbles, red was for hot water and just to quench his curiosity he checked the yellow one and found that it was for making bubbles. Harry kept the green, red and yellow one running and went towards the changing room. He stripped completely as nobody else was present and stepped inside the pool with the egg in his hand. He sat on the second last step on the semi-circular side of the pool which was deep enough so that Harry's shoulders were above the level in the bath. He wasn't one for swimming, he never learned and Dursleys were not enthusiastic enough to allow him to learn.

He was enjoying the warmth and comforting feeling of the bath which had him in a relaxed state, more relaxed than he had been since Halloween this year. He thanked Cedric for telling him about the bathroom, even more than the clue at present.

He opened the egg with his soapy hands which resulted in the characteristic shriek Harry had associated with the egg. It slipped from his hands as he was trying to shut the flaps and fell into the pool, rolling towards the deeper end. But something was different now, the inside of the egg was giving a glow, pale green in colour. Harry dipped his head and tried to reach to the egg; as his head crossed the surface, he heard a beautiful voice singing something, the sound was definitely coming from the egg.

 ** _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_**

 ** _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_**

The egg stopped singing at that, he picked the egg, closed it and came out of the water to finally breath.

"You are quicker than the last one." He heard a girly was coming from behind, he turned his head in the direction to find the source. His glasses were off but he could identify it as a ghost due to the appearance and he was certain it wore a black school robe.

"Myrtle!" Harry shouted, he was outraged. "Stay away, I am not wearing anything." This wasn't a major problem as the bubble foam was dense enough to make the surface opaque. But Harry wasn't taking any chances; he moved the egg, which was held in his hand, in front of his privates.

"Don't worry, I closed my eyes." She answered innocently, Harry doubted it. "You haven't visited me in a while."

"You live in a girl's bathroom, Myrtle. I am not supposed to be there." Harry answered, trying his best not to be rude but the ghost wasn't taking the hint.

"You didn't have a problem sometime back." She answered and crossed her hands in front.

"Myrtle, close your eyes and leave or I will ask Bloody Baron for some help." Harry answered, his temper flaring a bit. Sir Nicholas had told Harry in his second year when he was invited in the _'Death Day Party'_ by the aforementioned ghost that majority of the ghost in the castle were afraid of Bloody Baron and not only ghosts but Peeves the poltergeist as well. Harry wouldn't have believed it than if he was told that that particular piece of information would be useful in future.

Myrtles ghostly features had one more inclusion to it, a hint of fear. The ghost drifted out of the pool area through the changing room. Harry was certain that Myrtle would just turn herself invisible and watch him afterwards. He knew he sounded a bit self-centred but he also knew it being a possibility.

As Myrtle drifted away, Harry took a deep breath and folded him legs so that he was completely submerged. Once he was inside the water, he opened the egg and the song began.

 ** _Come seek us where our voices sound,_**

 ** _We cannot sing above the ground,_**

 ** _And while you're searching, ponder this:_**

 ** _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_**

 ** _An hour long you'll have to look,_**

 ** _And to recover what we took,_**

 ** _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_**

 ** _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_**

He came out of water, shaking his head to move his hairs away from his eyes. He repeated this thrice so that he could memorize it completely. Once he was sure that he had it memorized, he sat there for a few minutes thinking about the clue as the water around him was cooling down.

He left the prefects' bathroom half an hour later and ran to the common room. He found Hermione sitting on the couch with her half-kneazle cuddled in her lap, Hermione had a book open in her right hand, her left was scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. To Harry's mild surprise, Ron was sitting at the nearby chair. Harry was aware that the friendship of the duo and Ron was on the mend since the ball but it still needed time to strengthen.

He walked up to the couch and plopped down next to Hermione who looked up from the book and saw the look of confusion and deep thinking on his face. She closed the book and kept it on the side, she turned to face him and in doing so she dislodged her cat from her position. The action wasn't well received by the feline, she showed her displeasure by hissing towards his human.

"So, how did it go? Did you find the clue? How did it work? Have you made any progress on deciphering the clue?" She asked all the questions in one breath and in response, Harry raised his hands in front of him in the universal sign of calm down.

"It went well. I did find the clue. I had to open it underwater. I haven't worked out the clue." He answered, trying to answer all her questions and hoping that the order was correct. He then proceeded to tell her everything that happened in the bathroom once she had calmed down completely. Before Hermione could answer, Ron answered.

"You might have to fight mer-people, underwater and retrieve something." Ron answered in a matter-of-factly way. Hermione's jaw just hit the ground and Harry himself was astonished. He didn't know that chess was not Ron's only skill. Apparently, he was good with Riddles and strategy too.

"And how did you reach that conclusion?" Hermione asked, knowing that he was most probably right as she stitched all the words to get everything out of it.

"It's a bit obvious, actually. That's what the first four lines of the verse says. The last four telling that you will have an hour to complete the task."

Hermione's reaction of amusement was too good, _'Where is Colin when he is needed',_ Harry thought to himself. They started to discuss the possibilities and tried to get every view covered. Hermione wrote down the important points that would need to be researched thoroughly.

1\. How to breath underwater for prolonged time (min. one hour)

2\. Charms, Curses and Counter curses for underwater environment

3\. Teach Harry how to swim.

4\. Magical creatures in the black lake and defences against them.

She told Harry that she would draw a timetable for the duo to go through everything and manage some free time. She left the common room as she needed to plan for the second task. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were discussing the riddling skill Harry noticed about Ron. Ron was smart with certain things and chess was not the only one on the list. Ron told him that he liked puzzles, it helped with chess.

-X-X-

January 20, 1995

It came to Harry and Hermione's notice that since the ball, Neville has been seen spending time with Hannah on more than one occasion. It was helping with his self-confidence, he was more self-assured. He had joined the duo in their morning workout routine, when asked about it, he responded that Hannah told him to that it would be better if he gets into shape and he was not going to refuse it. They also asked Ron to join them but he refused, to remain in his bed a little longer.

School and classes were getting boring for the duo, their main worry was the upcoming task. Hermione was spending a lot of time in the library during the first week of January to find curses and hexes that could be used underwater. She had come across some variants of normal curses which could be useful. Her research did not stop there, she was also researching about creatures present in the depths of black lake and a few chats with Hagrid did go a long way.

Now the duo was practising the spells in the evenings in the gymnasium. Neville and Ron would join them occasionally during training. It was difficult to go swimming in the lake in this weather, so Hermione decided to teach him swimming in the prefects' bathroom; Harry accepted the proposal without hesitation. Apart from their time together, Hermione was spending a lot of time in library and on the other hand Harry was spending most of his time with Neville and Ron or with Susan.

Susan had been a welcome addition to their little group; as things stand, Hannah has been her closest friend and right now she was spending a big portion of her free time with Neville which left Susan to herself. Hermione was busy helping Harry, researching charms and hexes to keep him alive which was keeping her busy in the library for extended periods of time.

A few days back, Victor came to Hermione in the library and apologized for rudely walking out on them. He was happy to be friends with her, he was seen sharing the table with Hermione a few times by other occupants of the Hogwarts library.

A couple of days back, Hermione came across a charm which she thought was a possible solution for second task. She copied the details on a parchment, placed the book back on the shelf and ran towards the common room to tell Harry. Harry was relieved and grateful that Hermione had found the solution but the excitement was and relief was short-lived as Hermione explained the complicated charm.

It was named 'Bubble-head Charm' as it forms a bubble of air around one's head in dangerous environment, the charm was actually developed for potioneers who worked with poisonous or hazardous fumes. It lets them breath fresh air in all the smoke and fumes but it can be used to breath underwater. The only problem was that the charm drains a lot of energy from the caster to work underwater and using it for an hour may exhaust Harry. Hermione wasn't certain that this was 'the' solution but she believed that it wouldn't harm to practice it. There was a reason for it being a NEWT level charm as it would be a strain on the students with developing magical cores. They planned to practice it during their swimming practice, which was alternated with their morning runs last week. And while they will practice the charm, they will spend time in finding another solution.

As Hermione was thinking through the plan, Harry's mind drifted to their first swimming practice. They were in the prefects' bathroom, Harry had turned the red and green tap valves and Hermione went into the changing room to get in the swimsuit. Harry went to the other changing room and stripped down to his boxers. He walked into the pool before Hermione was out and it was a good thing. As Hermione walked out of the changing room in a two piece deep blue sports swimsuit, Harry's body reacted to the sight; he was blushing crimson and Hermione wasn't far from it. She slowly walked into the pull and Harry suddenly felt conscious to the proximity. He had never seen Hermione's skin this much exposed, he could tell that her body was developing and growing at the right places.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." Harry complimented and their blushes intensified. It took them more than fifteen minutes to move past the awkwardness and embarrassment of simple and accidental touches on their exposed bodies. Harry needed all his determination to keep his eyes and hands from wandering and Hermione appreciated it. Once they were past the awkward phase, Hermione started to teach Harry the basics of swimming. They ended their first lesson half an hour later. Harry let her go and change first while he drained the pool, he appreciated the retreating form of his girlfriend.

They were best friends and they had been together for almost a month but they were still not comfortable enough to indulge in physical acts of affection other than occasional handholding, a few kisses on cheeks or a peck on lips, they enjoyed the closeness when they sat on the couch or during meal times. If anybody wasn't paying attention, he would think that nothing has changed for a couple of months between the duo.

-X-X-

January was about to end and the only thing changed in the lives of Harry and Hermione was that now Snape was even colder towards both of them, as if it was possible. He had been trying his best to get some response and satisfaction from assigning detention to the pair for the response but he was yet unsuccessful. Hermione was doing her best to keep Harry out of trouble and her new status as his girlfriend came very handy. She was able to prevent open confrontation between Harry and Malfoy on four different occasions. The only problem was that now not only Harry but she was also being slandered. She knew that it didn't matter as her parents don't read Daily Prophet and they trusted their daughter enough. The only problem was that she was unsure how long she would be able to keep Harry's and her temper in check, Malfoy was making it very difficult. But today, it was not Harry who was on her mind, it was Ron. He got himself in a confrontation with Malfoy in an attempt to defend Harry against the verbal assault by the Slytherins which resulted into him getting a detention with Snape. Harry needed something to distract her and he had the perfect idea.

"Hermione!" Harry asked, trying to get her attention away from the book she was looking at. Harry knew she wasn't reading it.

"Hmm" Hermione answered, finally looking at him.

"You are aware that we have a Hogsmeade weekend in February." She nodded and Harry continued, "So I was thinking about asking you to go out with me on a date. Would you like to go?" Harry asked, his expressions showing his anxiety.

"Of course, Harry. I am your girlfriend." She answered as if she already knew that they were going for a date on the next Hogsmeade weekend which was just before Valentine's Day. But internally she was thinking that finally he asked, she was prepared to ask him herself if he didn't. Harry just smiled in response, certain that he had reduced her worries for the moment.

Ten minutes later, Ron entered the common room through the portrait hole, he was seething in anger. He walked to the couch and plopped down in the middle of it.

"That foul, slimy git." Ron spat as if the words were turning sour in his mouth.

"Language, Ron!" Hermione scolded but Ron didn't acknowledge it. "What happened?" Hermione asked a moment later.

"I was scrubbing the table tops of the potions' classroom for last 2 hours with a toothbrush, can you believe it, a bloody toothbrush. And all that time, he was breathing down my neck, pointing to spots smaller than an ant." He was looking like he could strangle the bat like potion master with his bare hands. It took a few minutes for him to blow the heat and cool down.

-X-X-

February 12, 1995

Harry and Hermione were walking down the main street of Hogsmeade village, hand in hand. It was their first official date and Harry had no idea what he was going to do so he had suggested that they will do whatever Hermione says. They had spent more than an hour in the bookshop, finding the book Hermione wanted; Harry paid for it and the couple than walked into Honeydukes. Harry bought a big Valentine's Day gift pack for Hermione, they did not want to carry it so they asked it to be delivered by owl. Afterwards they have visited some other stores and the florist where Harry bough a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow rose, which was well appreciated by his girlfriend.

The day was a very pleasant one until they entered the _Three Broomsticks._ The pub was more crowded than they have seen it before, almost every table was occupied. Harry scanned the room for an empty table, he noticed that in the corner table Mr. Bagman was discussing something with the goblins in hushed voice; from Bagman's looks, it seemed like he was trying to defend himself. Before he could process it, he heard Hermione shout at someone.

"You arrogant, lying, filthy woman; how dare you spew those lies about everyone." But before Hermione could walk up to her or draw her wand, Harry held her from behind, his arms locking in front of her so that she could not move her arms. The target of her anger was Daily Prophet reporter, Rita Skeeter.

"Calm down dear, she is not worth it." Harry whispered in her ear. Every eye in the pub was on them and the pub had suddenly gone silent. Rita Skeeter was shocked but it seemed like she heard what Harry said to her.

"Oh, so you are together! Harry, so good to see you." Rita spoke in a fake friendly manner.

"Can't say the feeling is mutual. I am not friendly with liars." Harry replied, releasing Hermione who had regained her composure. Harry was now just holding her hand.

"Would you two like to give an interview, the complete truth?" Rita asked, walking towards them.

"Hell will freeze before that day." Hermione answered and walked out of the pub. But before Harry could follow his girlfriend, Rita spoke. "Tell your girlfriend, Mr. Potter that it does not go well to make enemies with powerful people." All the friendliness was gone from her voice.

"Believe me when I say this Skeeter that we have faced worse than you." With those parting words, Harry left the pub to follow Hermione.

He found her sitting on a bench on the side of the road, Harry sat close to her and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, bringing her closer. She enraged, her face was red and her eyes had that look that said that she wanted blood. It took a few minutes for Harry to get her to calm down. They were sure that they were done here for today so they walked back to the castle and went to the kitchens for a meal. They were back in the common room before three in the afternoon.

A/N: from this chapter, onwards story will move fast till we reach Harry's fifth year. Please Review.


	11. B1: Chapter 11 - To Black lake

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Slow paced chapter, kind of a filler for the days before the second task. Please Review.

Chapter Eleven: On the way to the Black Lake

February 13, 1995

Percy Weasley was an eighteen-year-old wizard who had just graduated from Hogwarts in the Batch of '94. He was not just a part of a graduation party, he was the Head Boy, top student in his class since his second year; he had scored seven 'Outstanding' in his NEWTs, thus joining an elite club of individuals who had achieved the feat and gone on to achieve greatness. He had his life planned out since his first Hogwarts journey when he came across a fellow first-year Adrian Jugson. He was insulted from being a poor and powerless pureblood family by the junior Jugson and he had decided that he would show these bastards that he can achieve power on his own. He had planned to become the future Minister of Magic; he had worked hard all his school life to make sure he had the solid foundation on which he will make his dream palace.

The first thing he had done after graduation was to apply for a job in the ministry. He was aware about the internal politics and working of system and understood that if you want to be the next minister, you should either be the Undersecretary or Director of DMLE or Director of DIMC as these were the three most powerful posts after the minister, in that particular order. He knew that he was not the one for Auror Academy, fighting was not his strong suit. He was good at planning and negotiations, he had good understanding of the international wizarding relations and magical law; hence, the best option he had was Department of International Magical Cooperation (DIMC). He was very fortunate that his educational record and his skills during his selection process had ensured the job of junior assistant to the Director of DIMC.

He was working hard, he had dedicated all his time and energy to build his career. This had skewed his relationship with his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater but he knew that she will understand. He was going to ask her to move with him tomorrow as he had moved out of his family home after he had accepted the job; he living in a rented apartment in Bromley.

This morning was a very interesting one as something big had happened. For a couple of weeks, actually since mid-January, Mr. Crouch had been a bit unwell and had preferred to work from his home. It was his job to send him daily and weekly reports and Mr. Crouch will respond with letter in which all the instructions were clearly written. Today, when he reached his desk, there was an official letter on the desktop with the seal of the Director of DIMC. As he opened the letter by breaking the seal, his eyes went wide like saucers, for a few moments he could not believe his eyes so he read the letter again; if it was said that he was stunned, that would be an oversimplification. The letter was written on the official letterhead of the Director.

 _Percival Ignatius Weasley_

 _Junior Assistant_

 _Director's Office_

 _Department of International Magical Cooperation_

 _Ministry of Magic of Great Britain and Ireland_

 _February 13, 1995_

 _Dear Mr. Weasley_

 _It is being announced that you have been promoted to the post of Secretary to the Director. This will be effective immediately and the monthly salary of a Senior Assistant._

 _The job responsibility would include being the Director's representative to in any and every official event where the presence of the Director of DIMC is necessary. You would have the power to direct the staff according to the instruction sent by me on regular intervals._

 _The Office of the Director had put its trust in you to fulfil the responsibility with utmost commitment and dedication._

 _Warm Wishes,_

 _Yours Faithfully,_

 _Bartemius Crouch Sr._

 _Director of DIMC_

 _Ministry of Magic of Great Britain and Ireland_

 _Enclosed: Letter's Copy to the Undersecretary to the Minister._

He was ecstatic, he was just got promoted to the second highest post in department and he was beyond happy. He had just climbed a significant part of the ladder that was the ministry administration.

-X-X-

February 14, 1995

 ** _Mysterious Illness of Bartemius Crouch_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _There has been a major but mysterious development in the ministry at present. The Director of DIMC, Mr. Bartemius Crouch Sr. who is known for his strong opposition of You-Know-Who's regime and the infamous case of his son's imprisonment for being an active Death Eater._

 _Mr. Crouch hasn't been seen in public since his early exit from the Yule Ball, held at Hogwarts. In the bid to investigate the case, the reporter checked the house which appears to be deserted. St. Mungo's hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries have declined to comment. The Ministry officials have categorically refused to confirm the rumours of the mysterious illness._

 _This was brought into attention as a letter arrived in the department, promoting a junior assistant to the post of Secretary to the Director. He ministry employee in question is a fresh graduate from Hogwarts. This leads the author to question, 'what exactly is happening?' The wizarding world deserves to know the truth behind these mysterious developments._

 _-X-X-_

Today was Hermione's first Valentine's Day with her boyfriend and she was excited about it. She understood it very clearly that it was difficult for Harry to show his affection towards anyone, especially in public. She understood that there was very high probability that Harry and she will be going through a relationship where she would need to take the initiative as Harry was ill-equipped to do so, courtesy his relatives; she would need to make sure that Harry's commitment does not waiver if he ever got the idea that he was somehow hurting her, she would need to show him how a normal relationship works. She was happy to wait for Harry to feel comfortable in a new relationship dynamics, she knew that there wasn't much change but the small changes were the important ones.

She wanted to spent her time with Harry, snuggling, holding hands, routine kisses, gentle touches, evening walks around the castle grounds with their arms around each other; all in all, a warm and sweet harmony where they were like a single unit but with their individual identity remaining intact.

Hence, she was happy when Harry gave her a bouquet of red and yellow roses and a gift box of Honeydukes' best chocolates. But this was just the minor part of the reason of her happiness, the main reason was the kiss Harry gave her.

As she stepped down from the dormitory stairs, Harry took her right hand in his left and gently pulled her towards himself, with his right hand he gently caressed her cheek. He placed his hand just below her ear, his thumb stroking her cheek gently, she leaned into his warm touch, this brought a deep blush on her face. She was momentarily speechless due to his action, she was looking in his deep emerald eyes which had the intensity that was possible only with deep feelings. She could feel that how deeply Harry cared for her, he would not be able to voice the feelings yet but she understood that she was a major part of his life.

He slowly leaned in, Hermione shut her eyes closed and moved her left hand so it was resting on Harry's chest. As Harry lips touched hers, he deepened the kiss, there was no urgency or raw energy but an underlying feeling of bliss and contentment. Hermione, for that moment, just wished that this should never stop. She commented to herself that this felt right, they broke the kiss fifteen seconds later but Hermione now knew that this feeling, this moment was one of the most special ones in her life. They stood there for a minute or two, their foreheads touching each other, Hermione was lost in the emerald lake that was Harry's eyes and Harry was lost in the pool of chocolate that was Hermione's eyes.

-X-X-

February 20, 1995

Neville Longbottom was walking towards the Gryffindor common room, his mind playing the events of the past year. The shy and chubby kid was now losing some of the baby fat he had for the last few months, puberty was a bit gentle on him. Who would have believed a year ago, that Neville would have a girlfriend by the end of his fourth-year? Hermione and Harry had to encourage him to ask Hannah to be his girlfriend and he had asked the question during the Hogsmeade weekend.

When Hannah answered that she would answer him after a couple of days, he was worried to the core. The next two days were difficult for him as the waiting he was doing for the answer was killing him. She then asked him after the breakfast on Valentine's day for a private conversation, he was nervous beyond his wits when he agreed as he was certain that she would refuse. His self-confidence would have taken a serious hit if the answer was anything but a 'yes'. He was put out of his misery when Hannah answered that she would be delighted, he was happy beyond the scope of a verbal explanation.

He was aware that he was friends with Harry-Hermione-Ron since first-year but they were never close, this year their friendship had seen the change for better. He finally had a group of friends, he finally had the feeling of belonging to a group.

Then there was professor Moody, he was a teacher, except professor Sprout, who believed that Neville had talent; Moody appreciated his talent in herbology and encouraged him to learn more, he suggested that Harry would need his friends this year when his name came out of the goblet.

He was sitting in the common room with a herbology book given by professor Moody. He could see that Harry-Hermione were worried about something, talking in hushed tones while sitting around a small table in the corner of the common room. He rose from his chair and walked towards them.

"Hey guys!" He asked in a cheery tone. Their conversation paused as he came closer to them.

"Hey Neville! What are you reading?" Hermione asked, looking towards the book in his hand.

"oh, it's 'Magical Water Plants of The Mediterranean' by Hadrian Whittle, Moody gave it to me. It's very interesting book if you like herbology." Neville answered, he knew that neither of the two was genuinely interested in herbology. Hermione knew the subject and its theories but she was not interested in it. "So, what got you guys all worried?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Nothing, just the tournament." Harry answered flatly. He was disappointed that he was unable to maintain the bubblehead charm for longer than twenty minutes. The feeling of dread that he was going to drown in the lake.

"Something I can help you with?" Neville asked, he knew that if Hermione and Harry can't get something done than he wouldn't be able to but there was no harm in asking.

"Not unless you can give me gills!" Harry sniped at him, he just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts for a few minutes. Neville thought for a few seconds before answering, he could understand that it was the pressure of the tournament that had Harry sniping at him. Than he started laughing, it took a minute or so for his laughter to subside. Harry and Hermione had a confused expression on their faces, not understanding the reason for this positive outburst. When Neville looked at their faces again, he realized that it was not a joke. "You are not joking?" Harry shook his head in the universal sign of 'no'.

"Ok, there is actually a plant which might be able to help with that." Hermione's eyes went wide in surprise, Harry on the other hand was looking at him like he had said the most outrageously impossible thing. "It's called Gillyweed, it was one on the initial plants in this book. Herbologists use it all the time for their underwater expeditions. Although its effects vary significantly depending on the type of water, same amount might work up to ten minutes longer in salt water than fresh water." The last part of the sentence was like thinking out loud and not for explanation purpose.

Hermione jumped from her chair and engulfed Neville in a bone crushing hug, she gave him a peck on cheek, all the while saying 'thank you'. As Hermione broke the hug and stepped back, Neville was stunned and unable to respond, a few seconds later his mind returned to normal.

"Thanks Neville, you are a lifesaver." Harry spoke, the relief evident in his voice. He offered his hand to Neville to be shook which he accepted graciously. For the next couple of hours Neville explained about gillyweed, its effects and side-effects, how it worked, how much quantity Harry would need to remain underwater for an hour in the black lake. The only remaining problem was how to get it.

"What should we do, Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry was going over possible solutions then suddenly the idea struck him.

"Dobby!" Harry called for the friendly house-elf he helped during his second year in Hogwarts. The elf appeared in front of the three students, on the table in the centre. He was bouncing on his feet with excitement, his ears were flapping like wings as he bounced from one foot to the other.

"what can dobby do for his friend, the great Harry Potter?" the elf asked excitedly.

"Dobby, please call me Harry or Harry Potter." Dobby nodded in response. "Dobby, can you bring me some gillyweed, if you don't mind?" Harry asked and the next moment the elf was gone with click of his fingers. Harry took it as an agreement for his request, he did not have to wait long for his confirmation as Dobby returned in less than thirty seconds with a big glass jar filled with slimy green tendrils. Dobby handed the jar to Harry who in turn handed it to Neville so he can take the required amount. Neville extracted a handful of the herb, closed the lid and returned the jar to Dobby. Harry asked Dobby to return the jar to its original position. "Thanks Dobby. You were a great help."

Neville told Harry that this amount would be enough for two hours so that Harry can practice once for a few minutes and then can keep some quantity as backup during the task. Hermione liked the idea immediately. They decided to test the plant the next day after dinner in the prefects' bath.

-X-X-

"Master, he is weak but his mental shield is getting stronger." Wormtail said to the form in the chair. His eyes were filled with fear, he was aware that it would do no good to make the dark lord unhappy.

"It's your job Wormtail to keep him in line." The hissing voice said, angry at the situation. "If you can't do it then ask my other servant to do it. His _'Imperius'_ is stronger than yours. We need to keep him under control."

"Yes master."

Harry woke up with cold sweat drenching his pyjamas, his scar had a slight pain. His dreams, better nightmare, were getting weirder day by day. He was unsure what to do about them. He checked the watch on the bedside table, it was half past three in the morning. He did not feel like sleeping so he moved the quilt away and swung his legs out of bed. He picked up the cloak and the map, put on the shoes and the Weasley sweater and walked out of the dormitory for a walk around the castle.

He wrapped the cloak and activated the map so he would not come across Filch or his bloody cat, Mrs. Norris. It was a longstanding mystery and a joke that why Mrs. Norris was called 'Mrs.'. Some suggested that she was his wife and he transfigured her into a cat and couldn't return her to the original form but Harry knew that this was not possible as Filch was a squib. He walked towards the astronomy tower, he wanted to get some fresh air. As he opened the map to check the route, his eyes came across a shocking scene. The label named 'Barty Crouch' was moving around Snape's ingredient store. He pushed the idea out of his mind for the moment as he already had enough weird things for the night.

An hour later when he was returning from the tower, he stumbled across someone and collided into him. Harry was Holding the map but he wasn't looking at it, his mind was wandering about other things. The person he collided with was none other than professor Moody. Moody removed the cloak from Harry and gave him the crooked smile.

"Good morning, Potter. Sleep walking?" Moody asked, his demeanour strict. Harry paled at seeing the professor and was unable to form any response. "What's this?" Moddy asked, pointing towards the Marauders' Map. Harry hesitated for a few seconds but relented under the glare from Mad-Eye. He explained about the map and how to operate it, to Harry's surprise, Mad-Eye smiled. The surprises didn't end there as Harry didn't receive any detention or point-deduction for his nocturnal wandering but Moody confiscated the map. Moody warned him that he won't be this forgiving the next time.

"Sir, don't believe the map completely. I think it's malfunctioning." Harry said, eyeing the map in Moody's hand.

"And why do you think so?" Moody asked, curious like a five-year-old at a new place.

"I saw Mr. Crouch in Snape's ingredient store. I don't think Crouch will be wandering the castle, he hasn't been seen in a month." Harry answered truthfully.

"Do you know something, Harry. Crouch was DMLE head during Dark Lord's regime in '81 and Snape was a marked Death Eater. There are things you don't know, Potter." With that reply, Moody turned and left Harry standing in the middle of the corridor, more confused than before.

-X-X-

February 23, 1995

Ron was surprised, he was never got called by professor McGonagall. Agreed, he had been in some tricky situations but that never happened with the pair that was walking towards the Transfiguration corridor. A few minutes ago, Hermione and He were called to McGonagall's office by some third-year. The boy did not mention the reason and the curfew was going to be in effect a few minutes later.

"Hermione, do you have any idea?" Ron asked her as they walked side by side towards the destination. She just shrugged in response, it was a new experience when she was called by a professor and she had no idea why. The remaining of their walk was in complete and somewhat awkward silence. They reached McGonagall's office and knocked, they entered on receiving the permission to do so. McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, reading a parchment, she looked up from it as they walked towards the desk.

"Good evening professor." Both Hermione and Ron said together. McGonagall replied in kind, rose from her chair and asked them to follow her. They did not ask her where she was leading them but Hermione had some idea as they crossed through a couple of familiar corridors. She realized that this path lead to the infirmary but this realization confused Hermione even more. Her trips to infirmary were usually after Gryffindor quidditch matches and always involved Harry but she knew that Harry was sitting now in the common room. She had no clue as to who this person was in infirmary.

As the group entered the infirmary, they saw that the Hogwarts school nurse, Madam Pomphrey and Headmaster Dumbledore were waiting for them.

"Ah, good evening Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore spoke with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

"Good evening headmaster." The teenagers replied. "Professor Dumbledore, forgive me asking but why were we called here?"

"Do not worry Ms. Granger. You two will be in no danger and neither will be anyone else." He answered but before this answer registered in her mind, Dumbledore drew his wand and the next thing Hermione remembered was complete darkness.

-X-X-

It has been an hour since Hermione and Ron left Harry in the common room to meet McGonagall. Harry was sitting on the couch, waiting for them to return, a book on marine beasts and how to handle them open in his hands. He was resting on the couch such that his head was on the arm and his legs stretched over the couch. He fell asleep waiting for his two oldest friends, the book fell to the floor.

Harry woke up with a sore neck and uncomfortable sleep, it was still dark outside. His mind was continuously drifting towards task he had to face today, different monster attacking him from different side and he was trying to swim away from them. He rubbed his eyes and went up the stairs to the dormitory, he was too tired to change or remove his shoes or take notice of his surroundings. He just dropped on the bed and was fast asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

"Harry, wake up! Wake up!" somebody was shaking his shoulder violently, trying his best to wake him up. Harry opened his eyes but all he saw was a blur, he could not recognize the face of the person in front of him. The said person handed him his spectacles and as he put them on, Harry recognized that the person trying to shake him up was Neville. Harry jumped up from his sleeping position and moved his head to check the time. It was 8:25, the task was supposed to start at 9:00 am and the champions had to reach the arena before 8:45. There was no time remaining.

He turned towards Neville, who handed him a parcel which, he informed Harry, had arrived around half past seven. It was a two-piece men's' swimming suit with a robe, it had a black swimming shorts and a scarlet and yellow vertically striped vest. Harry quickly changed into the swimming suit and wrapped himself in the robe. He opened his trunk and extracted the small jar which had the gillyweed. He pocketed the jar in his robe and closed the lid of the trunk, immediately locking it. Harry and Neville started to walk towards the common room.

As they reached the common room, Harry was surprised to not finding Hermione and Ron waiting for him. "Where are Hermione and Ron?" Harry asked Neville, his anxiety coming to the fore.

"I don't know Harry, Ron didn't return to the common room last night." Neville answered.

Realization suddenly dawned on Harry, he sprinted towards the entrance hall, leaving a confused Neville in his wake. Neville followed Harry, running as fast as he could but he was slow compared to Harry after his daily morning runs and was left behind. Harry reached the great hall and looked inside to check if Hermione and Ron were sitting inside, hoping against hope that his assumption was wrong but he was not that lucky. A moment later, Neville reached Harry and found him staring inside the great hall from the threshold with a pained expression on his face.

The only thing on his mind was the clue inside the egg, the poem was running in his mind on a loop, especially the last two lines, 'But past an hour, the prospect's black, too late, it's gone, it won't come back'. Neville put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and turned towards him.

"They are in the lake Neville." He started to walk towards the lake boathouse with some pace. His eyes fixed forward, they had a look of determination. Harry was determined that he would be getting them out of it anyhow.

They reached the boathouse, there was a floating path going a hundred or so yards towards the lake. At the end of this floating footbridge was a platform, hundred feet square in size. Every student, host or guest, teachers and ministry officials were standing on the platform. Harry walked ahead with Neville on his left and reached the front of the platform where other champions stood, everyone looking pretty nervous.

Mad-Eye stood there, waiting for Harry and as Harry walked towards him, he verbally showed Harry that he was unimpressed by his lack of punctuality. Right now, Harry did not care about it one bit, the only thing on his mind was that Hermione and Ron were in the lake and it was his responsibility to get them out of there. The twins were busy collecting the bets for the task, completely oblivious to the fact that their brother was not here.

Dumbledore and the other headmasters walked towards the front where the champions stood. They were accompanied by Bagman and surprisingly, Percy Weasley. Dumbledore walked on step further ahead so that he was detached from the other, his raised his wand and the tip rested on the side on his neck.

"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions, a treasure of sorts. These six treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win, champions need the find the treasure and return to the platform before the stoke on an hour. After that, they are on their own, no magic will save this." Dumbledore had magnified his voice using his wand and the words and their meaning hit Harry very hard. He opened the jar and put the gillyweed in palm, he handed the jar and the robe to Neville.

"Champions, take your places, the task will begin as with the canon blast." All the champions lined in the front of the platform, with their back to the audience. Dumbledore fired a spell in the sky, in front of the platform, a big round clock dial appeared there, floating in the air.

"On the count of three." Dumbledore announce and Harry ate the gillyweed, chewing on the slimy green tendrils, it tasted like stale fish.

"One…. Two…. Three"

 ** _BOOM_**

A/N: The chapter is short so that I can write the whole lake sequence in one chapter. I tried to change the way I write usually, I hope you like it. Any suggestions and criticism would be welcome. Please Review.


	12. B1: Chapter 12 - Second Task

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This would be the action filled chapter for the second task. There will be multiple POVs so please don't chew off my head as it is just an experiment for the final task. Please leave a review or PM me the suggestions regarding which style you would prefer. This will be the most difficult chapter till now for me to write so please bear with me. 'Selkie' are the type of mer-people in Britain and especially in the Black Lake.

Please review.

Chapter Twelve: The Depths of the Black Lake

 ** _Boom_**

' _Aere Globus_ ', with the incantation, Fleur cast the bubblehead charm on her and jumped into the water. She was wearing a pale blue one-piece swimming suit and almost every guy on the platform was staring at her body. But she didn't care, her sole focus was on the task. Madame Maxime had informed her that morning that her hostage was her younger sister, Gabrielle. She was fuming with rage that they had put Gabrielle in danger, it took all her self-control to not change in her avian form and start throwing fireballs at everyone. She needed to focus, to save Gabrielle from the dark depths of the lake.

In this task, she was at a significant disadvantage due to being a Veela. It was a misconception that you can be part-Veela, very few people were aware that Veela bred pure. If a Veela gave birth to a girl than she will be a Veela, this was the case more than ninety percent of the time. If the Veela gave birth to a boy, which in itself was a rare scenario but if it happened than the boy would be a normal wizard albeit a handsome one. Veela were powerful creatures with a natural affinity towards fire and fire-related magic. Their strength reduces significantly when it comes to water, they were less powerful and their magic was rather weak.

Fleur made her way through the muddy bed of the lake where different kinds of water plants were present, was littered with stones. She swam forward, zoning out everything around her and focussing on task at hand. After a couple of minutes, the landscape shifted and the lake became even deeper and foggier, now the visibility was less than ten feet. Small fishes swam past her like darts. She moved her head from side to side to see any hint to where Gabrielle might be. She swam for the next ten minutes in the same direction and came across a field of flat long weeds of deep brown colour, they looked like long ribbons, around a foot wide, rooted at the bottom of the lake which was at the least fifty feet deep from her position.

She had the feeling that she needed to cross the field so she entered but a bit hesitantly and drew the wand from the holster around her calf. She was looking around and saw something swimming past ahead which looked like a Selkie and suddenly something grazed past her left foot.

She turned but there was nothing, at this depth, the sunlight was useless so she lightened her wand tip but the result wasn't any better. And then something gripped her ankle, something with suckers, it took hold of her leg and started to pull her down. She tried to kick it furiously but to no success, she was a bit hesitant to fire a stunner, afraid that she might hit herself with it. The hesitation cost her and the next moment there were more than twenty of them, all around her. All of them attacked her at the same time, lunging towards her and getting a grip on her limbs and torso with their suckers. The bubblehead charm collapsed as the creature attacked at her face and in less than thirty seconds, all went black.

-X-X-

' ** _Boom_** '

' _Aere Globus_ ', once the air bubble formed over her head, Zoe jumped into the dark lake. The first reaction she had was to light her wand with a ' _Lumos_ '. The lake was so foggy and the visibility was very low which made finding her hostage even more difficult. Madam Picquery had informed her this morning that her hostage was her younger brother Joshua. Zoe hadn't seen him for half a year, the last time they were together was when she visited him in Australia in July.

It had been two years since their parents split up, her father received the custody for Joshua and her mother received her custody. He was three years younger to her but they were always close, contrasting to the usual sibling quarrels, they were a happy pair. Her father and her brother moved to Australia in that summer, since than she was spending a part of her summer break which coincided with her brother in Australia and her brother would spend the Christmas break with her mother and herself in America. This year, she had missed him during the break the most. And after all this, they were the closest after but in a very crooked situation.

She swam for around twenty minutes, going deeper in the lake with every passing second. She came across some kind of a tunnel, more like a passage between two huge rocks. The passage opened into an amphitheatre of sorts, like a smaller replica of colosseum. And in the middle of it was the peculiar creature, she hadn't seen it before but she was certain that it dangerous as the appearance was giving her the vibe that she should be careful around it.

As she came closer, the form finally registered in her mind, it was a Kelpie. It had the front half of a horse with bulrush mane and the rear half was that of a fish. It must have been larger than fifteen feet. It had a purple-green coloured scaly skin, similar to a fish, making it difficult to see him from distance.

She planned that she would circumvent it, try to go around it without any disturbing movement or sound. The creature was lying in the middle, rolled in itself so that his head was covered by the fin on the tail. As she started to move about, it reared its head and took in the surroundings. Kelpie than stood on its forelegs with its tail waving behind it, its eyes focussed on Zoe, assessing if it was an easy prey or not. Zoe panicked a bit and started to swim faster, this prompted the creature to come into action and it swiftly moved in front of Zoe.

She fired a couple of stunners which did not affect the creature but irritated it to no end. It lunged at Zoe, aiming for her side. Zoe was too slow to move out of its path and was hit on her side with its head and a hoof. The impact threw her into the wall, she was disoriented for a moment. Kelpie took the advantage of it and again lunged at her, this time Zoe acted faster and moved out of the way. Kelpie hit its head on the rock behind, throwing it off balance, enough for Zoe to put some distance between them. She took aim of the creature with her wand pointing towards its head.

' _Incarcerous_ ', a long rope sprang out from the wand and wrapped the Kelpie. Its mouth was tied and so were its hooves which were tied on the side of its body rendering it less agile and significant reduced the danger.

She moved past the creature and swam ahead, she reached an open area which looked like some Greek ruins. There were pillars, statues which resembled mermaids and fishes, the base of the lake here looked like a labyrinth with small square segments which looked like rooms. On the other side of all this was an archway, thirty feet wide and thirty feet high, under this archway were six human figures, floating with their legs tied to the bottom of the leg with ropes which resembled some kind of vines.

That was not all, there were red sparks flying closer to the hostages. Someone was firing curses in all the directions without any regard for the damage it can cause. She cautiously swam closer to the archway.

-X-X-

' ** _Boom_** '

Krum jumped into the lake and drew his wand out. He moved his wand around his head and torso in a complicated motion for thirty seconds. At the end of it, his head, neck, shoulders and chest were transfigured to that of a shark. He looked like a hybrid between a shark and a human.

When he deciphered the clue in the egg, unlike most other champions, he was inclined to use transfiguration instead of the bubblehead charm. There were many hidden advantages of this, his vision and senses were heightened which would make the task of finding the hostage easier. The added bonus was that the transfiguration does not drain him of energy like the bubblehead charm. It also helped that the transformation made him impervious to the coldness of water.

Duo to his senses, he did not need a lot of time to find his way. A few minutes later, he saw the French champion in front of him, he wanted to remain hidden from her so that she could not follow him to the hostages. The moment Fleur entered the tall weeds, he rushed through with maximum speed so that she could not see him. As he was crossing the field, he heard a chilling scream coming from behind. He knew the scream belonged to the champion he just crossed but he had more important thing to worry about, i.e. his hostage.

He swam for five more minutes, coming at the edge of an open area, the mer-village. He saw the hostages bound under the archway and he swam as fast as he could towards the area. Selkies present around gave him way without any protest, afraid of the form he had taken. This made his work easier but then suddenly a jet of red light came towards him and his body went motionless.

-X-X-

' ** _Boom_** '

Kenechi Ohara jumped into the lake and wore the locket which was in his pocket. He had spoken to his sensei about the task, he had deciphered the code in less than a week, it wasn't a difficult one to crack for someone who liked to take a hot bath after a tiring day. The Mahoutokoro residence had the facility where students can go and have a relaxing bath. It was a part of their lifestyle where they would relax in an herbal bath after a long day to relieve the stress in their muscles.

When he spoke with his sensei, he explained that he knew what he had to do and how he could accomplish, bubblehead charm wasn't a very difficult one. He just wanted something that would not drain so much energy. Sensei Kami than taught him a way to ingrain a charm onto a physical object and how to power the charm. It had taken more than forty days to master the art and ten more to charge the charm so that it would have an hour of reserve magical energy to fuel the charm. He had put the charm on a locket which he was wearing now, he understood that he would need all his energy to come through the task successfully.

He had a strategy from the beginning, he would tail one of the champions and then propel himself with a spell so that he can overtake him. He had decided that he would tail the American champion as she looked the most confident amongst the other champions. He maintained a safe distance so that she would not become suspicious of someone tailing her and she would clear the path ahead.

He was impressed when Zoe defeated the water-horse creature and that too pretty quickly. He was thinking about finding an alternative way if she was unable to clear the path but she quickly got the situation under control. As he came across the open area, he fired a propelling charm and was off towards the hostage area. He quickly became aware of the flying stunners when one of it came closer to him.

-X-X-

' ** _Boom_** '

' _Aere Globus_ ' Cedric put the bubblehead charm and jumped in the water. The moment he was inside the water, he drew his wand from the holster around his calf. He had a portable compass attached to his wrist watch and with its help he was able to direct himself towards the north. When he deciphered the clue, he understood that whatever would be taken will be safeguarded by the mer-people. He was aware about the fact that the black lake around Hogwarts has the highest population of mer-people (Selkie) in Britain. He had to ask Hagrid to know where exactly the mer-village was, the half-giant was happy to help. He told Cedric that the village was towards the north, approximately a kilometre away from the boathouse.

Cedric followed the information and he reached the village pretty quickly and without any incident. He was able to get the information about the best way to reach the village from the gamekeeper of the school.

When he reached the open area of the village, his eyes moved towards the archway and the hostages tied there. As he moved closer, he saw the backs of the hostages. To reach the place easily, he had to swim a bit farther and swim back. As he moved closer, he saw Harry firing curses rapidly towards the mer-people in a bid to send them away. He moved ahead so that now he was facing the hostages from the front, he shot a cutting curse that severed the rope that was tying his hostage, Cho Chnag, to the lake bed. He turned back, taking Cho's hand in his left one, he fired couple of stunners towards the mer-people, pushing them back.

-X-X-

' ** _Boom_** '

Harry jumped into the lake without a second thought and drew the wand from his wrist holster. He was chewing the gillyweed and it was a difficult thing, he could feel the coldness of the water, he did not have enough air in his lungs and after a few seconds they felt like burning. And then suddenly the burning sensation inside him was gone with a searing around his neck.

The side of his neck had split in multiple places to form gills which were flapping as he breathed. His vision, which was foggy earlier, cleared and the visibility increased significantly. The ice-cold water of the lake now felt pleasant. He looked towards his hands, his fingers were webbed like a sea creature; his legs elongated and transformed into big flippers. Every movement of his leg-flippers was propelling him a few feet forward without much effort.

This transformation and the experience he was having in the lake would have astonished him on any other day but today his sole focus was on his hostages, Hermione and Ron. He let his instincts take over and started swimming at the maximum speed he could manage. In less than fifteen minutes, he had reached the mer-village. He looked around and found the hostages were tied with some kind of ropes, the hostages were in an enchanted sleeping condition or so it looked. He saw six people there, four girls and two boys. The girl on the extreme left was surely Fleur's hostage as she was a carbon-copy of her, although significantly younger. The girl to her right was the date to the Japanese champion at the Yule ball; Harumi, Hakami something, he couldn't recall the name. the boy next to her had burgundy hair, similar to Zoe, he looked around his age but taller than him. On the right extreme was Cho Chang, next to her was Ron. On the left side of Ron was Hermione.

Harry's heart broke when his eyes rested on her face, she was pale, she was looking lifeless and it enraged Harry. The moment he went down to severe the ropes tied around her ankle, he was surrounded by three mer-people, they held long tridents in their hands. They pointed the trident towards his chest, trying to threaten him from three side.

"Not yours!" one of the mer-people said in a high-pitched voice, pushing the trident towards him.

"She is my girlfriend!" Harry protested but to no avail.

"Nah, only one." The Selkie on his right said. Harry's temper was flaring with each passing moment. His wand was already in his hand so he let the instincts take over. He rapidly fired three stinging hexes, one towards each Selkie. They moved back, clearly afraid and irritated by the curses, providing Harry some space to move. Other Selkies started to come closer and then Harry started firing every curse he knew that could render them immobile. Stunners, Incarceration curses, body binds, bludgeons, he put his everything in it. At that moment, everything that mattered was Hermione and to some extent Ron. He had no regard for the consequences of his action, all he could think about was taking Hermione to the safety of land.

And then there was some movement behind him. As he turned his head towards the side, he saw Cedric severing the rope that tied Cho to the bottom of the lake. Cedric followed it with a couple of stunners towards the mer-people. He then turned towards Harry and pointed at his wrist-watch with his wand, indicating that he had limited time. Harry just nodded and again turned back towards the mer-people.

The moment he turned back, he saw a shark moving towards him with its jaws wide open. He reacted purely on instincts and fired a couple of stunners rapidly which hit the shark on its snout, the stunner rendered the creature immobile. Harry did not remain idle watching his immobile target move slowly downward.

He then saw Kenechi moving towards him, followed by Zoe a few seconds later. They liberated their hostages and swam away from that place. Both of them firing a few curses with disoriented the mer-people. Harry found his opportunity in this chaos and liberated Hermione and Ron with a pair of severing charms. He looped their arms around his, keeping his wand free to move and swam as fast as he could towards the surface. A few feet below the surface, Harry pushed both of them upwards and dove back towards the hostage point. He remembered that Fleur's hostage was still there and he hadn't come across her in the lake.

As he reached the point, he waited for a few minutes for Fleur to arrive but his patience was running out. He severed the binding and pulled her away from the place, towards the surface. When Harry was twenty of so feet below the surface, something got hold of his left ankle, something with suckers on multiple arms. He looked below to find a grindylow stuck to his leg and a horde was following it. He pushed Fleur's hostage towards the surface and used a banishing charm to propel her. That was the last thing he did before grindylows got hold of his limbs and body. Their suckers were stuck to every inch of his exposed flesh except his face.

Then he felt the gills closing, his legs turning back to normal, webs around his fingers vanishing. He was now having burning sensation in his lungs due to lack of oxygen and a similar sensation outside due to the grindylows. He knew how to defend himself against them, professor Lupin had taught him this last year. He fired the curse that momentarily stunned the creatures and they scurried away, leaving a bruised Harry behind.

Harry was now drowning; his vision was foggy and it was now darkening with each passing second. He gathered all his courage and gave a last attempt at saving himself. He fired the only spell that came to his mind.

' _Ascendio_ '

The next moment Harry was moving like a torpedo towards the surface, he broke the surface at some pace and was thrown a few feet in the air. He fell back in the lake but this time Harry started to swim while keeping his head above the surfaces, every muscle in his body was hurting, it had a burning sensation, inside and out. But at last he was above the surface.

-X-X-

Susan Bones was anxious, bordering on worried. She hadn't seen Harry or Hermione at the breakfast, she wanted to wish Harry luck for the task. Then just before the task, Harry came running to the platform, Neville coming along with him but there was no sign of Hermione or Ron. Harry's face had a look which was an amalgamation of fear and determination. And then the task and its objective was announced, realization than dawned on her but it still left her confused.

She understood that the champions had to rescue their hostage from the lake. She also knew that Hermione would be Harry's hostage but what left her a bit befuddled was Ron's absence. She was aware that Harry and Ron's friendship was changing for good, she had spent some time with Harry and they had talked about it. Ron's absence brought many questions.

Before she could wish Harry good luck, there was a canon blast and the champions dove into the ice-cold water of the lake. Hannah and she moved around the platform so they were standing next to Neville. Hannah gave a hug to Neville, Susan just rolled her eyes on the awkwardness between them. Susan knew about their relationship, which was at the moment, in the 'awkward' stage. They liked each other but they were not that comfortable around each other. She knew that it was just a matter of time before they would be unable to keep their hands off each other.

Susan moved a bit so she was standing in front of Neville. "Have you seen Ron?" She asked Neville with a confused look. In response, Neville told her that he hadn't seen him since last night. The next thirty minutes were uneventful, they discussed the possible obstacles Harry would be coming across and things related to the task. Around half-hour mark, a pair of Selkies brought the French champion towards the platform. They were holding her from either side and dropped her on the platform. She looked pale with a bluish tinge to her colour. Madam Pomphrey came running towards her and after three different coloured spells, Fleur returned to consciousness. Her face was held a worried look and with each passing minute, Susan could feel, she was becoming even more worried. She was wrapped in multiple towels and robes to keep her warm.

Dumbledore then announced that unfortunately Ms. Delacour was unable to continue the task and would not be returning to the lake for the task.

The clock was approaching the three-quarter mark when Cedric and Cho emerged from the lake. It sent a wave of relief through a big segment of Hogwarts students, including Susan and Hannah. Cedric's friends stepped towards the edge of the platform to give the couple some help to bring them on the platform. The first thing Cho did after stepping over the platform was to throw herself onto Cedric and kissing him. Madam Pomphrey came closer to them and checked both of them for any injury.

They were followed by the Japanese champions with his hostage and the American champion with her hostage. They were quickly pulled out of the lake by their friends and madam Pomphrey rushed towards them to check if everything was okay. From the place where she was standing, it looked like Zoe had bruises on the side of her body and on her shoulder, Kenechi looked completely unharmed. They were then wrapped in multiple towels and blankets.

A few seconds later, Hermione and Ron swam towards the platform, a wave of relief washed over her as she saw them coming towards the platform. She offered her hand and pulled Hermione up with some help from Hannah. Neville helped Ron to get out of the lake. Madam Pomphrey came running towards them and checked Ron and Hermione for any injuries. She then wrapped them in towels and blankets. The first thing Hermione asked after her check-up was the whereabouts of Harry, she was worried to the extreme, Harry was supposed to come to the surface with his hostage but he was still in the lake.

She was fidgeting, she kept her hands wringing together, Hermione was trying her best to not breakdown. Just before the hour mark, someone emerged from the lake but a hundred yards or so away. The person was very small and was unable to swim, every eye on the platform was fixed on it and then came a shriek of relief. It was from Fleur, she was than shouting the name of the person, ' _Gabrielle_ ', she was waving frantically towards her. Dumbledore waved his wand and Gabrielle rose out of the lake and started to drift towards them with a gentle pace. Fleur received her sister in her open arms and both Delacour girls started crying in the embrace. Fleur removed her blanket and wrapped Gabrielle in it, kissing her all over her face, trying to assure herself that her sister was safe. The clock struck the hour mark.

Few seconds later, Harry shot out of the lake and then fell into to it again, he started to swim towards the platform, he was at the least fifty yards away from the platform. Without a second thought, Hermione threw the blankets and towels away and jumped into the lake, swimming rapidly towards Harry. They caught each other in the middle and Hermione put her arm under his shoulder to support him. She could feel that he was utterly exhausted and was having trouble in swimming. Ron and Neville dragged them out of the lake as the pair came closer. Hermione broke down in Harry's arms the moment they were out of the lake, she kissed both his cheeks and his forehead in an attempt to reassure herself that Harry was back with her. Neville put towels and blankets around Harry to dry him and madam Pomphrey evaluated if there was anything serious, finding nothing wrong, she left the couple and walked away.

"I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't know what was happening." She hid her face in the crook of his neck, he could feel her hot tears flowing down his neck and towards his chest.

"Shhh…. Hermione, it's alright, you are safe, we both are. I will let nothing happen to you." They stayed kneeled on the platform, wrapped in each other's arms, completely oblivious to the world. They missed the green beetle sticking on Hermione's robe. Harry's head was throbbing but he tried to push the pain away, the only thing that mattered right now was Hermione and showing weakness at present won't be good.

Fleur came towards them with Gabrielle walking just behind her, holding her sister's robe. She stopped next to Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned to look at the source of interruption, he found the emotionally charged eyes of the French beauty.

"You saved her, even vhen she wazzn't yours to save. Zank You!" She held Harry's face in her hands and kissed him on both his cheeks, emphasizing each word in 'thank you' with a kiss. Harry's ears turned pink and so did Hermione's cheeks but due to completely difference reasons. Gabrielle came forward and gave a tight hug to Harry and refused to step away. Harry bent down and gave a soft kiss on her forehead which stunned her enough for Fleur to drag her away from Harry.

"Looks like someone got a crush on you." Neville commented from behind. Everyone around them chuckled at the comment except Harry. Their banter was interrupted as two Selkies were dragging something in between them towards the platform, it looked like a shark. Dumbledore bent down and spoke with the mer-people in mermish for a full minute before he flicked his wand and restore Krum to his human form and brought him back to consciousness. Krum jumped on the platform as he returned to consciousness and regained control of his faculties. He turned his head towards Harry, a look of pure loathing and hatred in his eyes. Dumbledore gathered all the headmasters and the ministry representatives, he made an announcement for the students and staff to return to the castle and that the score would be announced during dinner that evening.

As everyone started walking towards the castle, clearly unhappy that the results weren't announced then and there, Dumbledore asked Harry to stay back. Hermione gave him a tight hug and a kiss on cheek before leaving for the castle with Ron, Neville, Hannah and Susan; their group was one of the last people to leave the platform. Harry walked towards Dumbledore with a look of anger.

As Hermione neared the boathouse, a voice called her from behind. "Mione!" She turned to find Krum coming towards her, he stood a couple of feet away from her and asked if they could talk. Hermione replied that they could talk here, she was amongst friends. Krum took a step towards her, coming closer.

"Mione, you were my 'ostage. I vanted to say, I like you. I would like to ask you for a date." Krum asked her in his heavily accented voice. He raised his hand in an attempt to put it on her shoulder.

Hermione's eyes widened at his words., she took a step back before he could rest his hand on her shoulder. "Victor, I have a boyfriend and if I was your hostage then it was wrong. It was nice talking to you but it would be better for you if you would maintain a respectable distance from me here onwards." She answered tersely, turned on her heels and walked away with her friends.

"You have something on your robes." Susan plucked the beetle from Hermione's robes and eyed it. The beetle looked different than any she had seen. "It doesn't look native." She showed it to Hermione who gave it a glance and threw it towards the lake. There on they just walked towards the castle in complete silence, everyone busy in their own musings.

On the platform, Harry stood facing the headmasters/headmistress and the ministry representatives. The officials stood in a semicircle with Dumbledore in the middle of it. He looked at Harry with a concerned look and spoke.

"Harry, why did you attack the mer-people?" Dumbledore knew that the others wanted to disqualify Harry from the tournament for attacking Krum, he needed to remain in control of the situation as always.

"They were stopping me from taking my hostage, _Sir._ " Harry answered curtly, his reply a bit sharper than one would expect.

"The girl was not your hostage, boy!" Igor jumped in the conversation, "He attacked my student Dumbledore, I want him out of the tournament." He was looking at Harry with a look of disdain. The way he said ' _boy_ ', angered Harry even more as it reminded him of his uncle.

"Igor, control yourself." Dumbledore said calmly but gave a look that shouted to keep yourself in check. "Harry, Ms. Granger was not your hostage, she was hostage for Mr. Krum. Your hostage was Mr. Weasley."

That was it for harry, he could not control his temper any longer. "How can you think that professor? How can you think and believe that Krum could miss her more than me? She is my best friend. How can you think that I would miss Ron more than Hermione?"

"He is your closest friend Harry." Dumbledore was still calm as a night.

"He lost my trust professor, he wasn't a friend to me this year." Harry replied, the last part coming out of his mouth as a curse.

"Perhaps we should all calm down, emotions running high won't solve anything." Madam Picquery suggested.

"Or perhaps the boy should answer as to why he attacked a fellow champion." Roshi Kami questioned while looking at Harry with a look that suggested that he didn't trust Harry.

"I didn't attack any champion!" Harry answered loudly.

"Quiet, Potter. Show respect to your superiors." Percy spoke for the first time.

"Weatherby, don't interrupt the discussion. I believe Mr. Potter's actions were in self-defence." Bagman answered, coming to Harry's side and resting his right hand on Harry's shoulder. "We shouldn't forget, he saved the French girl." He turned his eyes towards Harry with an appreciative look.

"Professor, I hit Krum because he was in the form of a shark, I did it to save myself and the hostages." Harry answered while looking into Dumbledore's eyes. Dumbledore nodded towards him. "You can leave, Harry. We will talk later." Harry didn't waste any time standing there or on farewells. He wrapped the blanket around himself tightly to shield his body from the icy wind. He was back in the common room fifteen minutes later.

Harry was surprised to find Susan and Hannah sitting on the couch on either side of Hermione, Hannah was on the right and Susan on her left. Neville was occupying the nearby chair on Hannah's side while Ron sat at the chair opposite to Neville. They were clearly waiting for him, all their faces were a mask of worry, they looked up towards him as he entered though the portrait hole. He told them that he would return to the common room in fifteen minutes after he had taken a hot shower and changed into something warmer. He suggested the same to both Hermione and Ron who nodded and walked towards their dormitories.

Harry was back in the common room before fifteen minutes were over, Ron was just a step behind him. Hermione had already returned to the common room and was sat in the middle of the couch, other three were still in their seats. Harry walked towards the couch and kneeled in front of Hermione, their eyes at the same level. He rested his hands on her knees and she rested hers on his. The contact providing them the comfort and warmth they so badly required. Sensing their need to stay close, Hannah rose form her seat and sat on the arm of Neville's chair, Harry sat in the seat vacated by Hannah. He wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder, the closeness comforting both of them.

"What happened after we left?" Ron asked him in a concerned manner, hoping that nothing bad had happened.

"Nothing, just some misunderstanding." Harry took a deep breath to keep his temper in check. "Apparently, Hermione was Krum's hostage and according to Karkaroff, I attacked Krum." He said with an angry laugh, the reaction surprised both Hermione and Ron.

Harry recited the whole incident that took place inside and outside the lake. He gave a complete report of what happened since he woke up to the point when he was dismissed by the headmaster. After he was over with his recital, the others gave him their story. Hermione told him about the talk she had with Krum, she pacified Harry's anger on the mention of Krum's words. It took them better part of an hour to tell everything that transpired this morning.

They then moved towards happier topics, the transition was pleasant for everyone and they discussed who would score how many points, their upcoming classes, nothing of importance in general. They were talking about their summer plans when the portrait swung open to admit the fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, Cormac McLaggen and his friends. The boy was the Gryffindor version of Malfoy, he was the biggest jerk in Gryffindor and a massive ego to go with it. He had the attitude that he owned the place and Harry took an instant dislike to the boy that year when he was made prefect.

The blonde guy walked towards them, his chest puffed and he gave a disdainful look to their group. "Non-Gryffindors are not allowed in the common room. Leave now, puffs!" he said pointing towards the portrait hole.

"Stay away from my friends!" Harry answered him, the reply coming out as a growl. Harry stood up from his seat, facing McLaggen; it didn't matter that the other guy was five inches taller than Harry. He had had enough for the day and he wasn't going to take any more from anyone.

"Stay clear of me, Potter!" McLaggen warned him in the sternest manner he could muster, his eyes looking down at Harry.

"Make me!" Harry stepped even closer in a threatening manner. Every eye in the common room was upon the scene unfolding in front of them. Seeing that the confrontation could turn hostile pretty quickly, the twins jumped in.

"Any problems, Mr. prefect?"

"Looks like you can't…."

"handle a delicate situation, don't you think brother mine…."

"similar thoughts brother, similar thoughts."

"Stay out of this you two or else you will be spending your evenings in detention." McLaggen threatened the twins with an evil gleam to his eyes.

"Not the best idea for an evening, eh Forge!"

"May be telling McGonagall about abuse of power can lighten up our evening, Gred."

"Good idea, my less smart twin."

"What? I'm the smarter Weasley."

The situation was averted by the twins and McLaggen stayed clear of the group. They only separated when they went for lunch, the remainder of the day was spent lounging around the Gryffindor common room, talking about inconsequential things. They could spend a day being teenagers without any worry about the tournament or anything else.

As the quartet of Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville was walking towards the great hall for dinner, the twins came up to them and informed them that they had spoken with McGonagall and she had told them that apparently, many other students were also fed up with Cormac and she would be replacing him with someone more responsible.

-X-X-

They were sitting at the house table in the great hall, eating dessert when Dumbledore stood behind the podium. The hall quietened immediately in the anticipation of the results of the second task.

"Good evening, everyone. This morning, we witnessed the second task of the tournament. Due to some unforeseen issues, the judges were unable to announce the standings after the second round." He paused here, his eyes travelling through the sea of faces in front of him. His face had a knowing smile, his eyes held the familiar twinkle, his body-language showed his authority.

"We have decided that Mr. Diggory would be given the first place as he completed the task in minimum time." There was a thunderous applause from the Hogwarts students at the announcement. It took better part of a minute for the noise to die down enough for headmaster to continue.

"Mr. Ohara was second to surface with his hostage and would have been avoided the second highest score but him using an unregistered magical artefact saw a serious deduction of points. However, the artefact was a brilliant example of charm-work nonetheless. In the light of this we have decided that Mr. Walker will be given the second place while Mr. Ohara will be placed in fourth position." The response wasn't as loud as the one for Cedric but it still took fifteen seconds for the noise in great hall to die down.

"Ms. Delacour was unable to finish the task as she forfeited due to an accident, she would be given the last place." Some consoling gazes were directed towards the French champion along with some lustful ones. Dumbledore continued with his announcement, "Mr. Krum could not retrieve his hostage and was stunned by Mr. Potter unintentionally. His partial human transfiguration to an aquatic species was a good piece of work and was highly appreciated. He marginally missed the fourth place and would be in the fifth position." There were some negative voices but all-in-all the response was lukewarm.

"Mr. Potter would have been given the first place if he had saved only his hostage as he was the first to reach them. He, however, rescued others as well who weren't even his responsibility. Therefore, we have agreed to award him third place, for outstanding moral fibre." With those words, Dumbledore resumed his seat in the middle.

The response for the announcement was completely unexpected. Applauses flooded from Beauxbatons and Ilvermorny contingents as well as a handful of Hogwarts students, the remaining weren't as generous in their appreciation of the result. The Slytherin table and the Durmstrang contingent was booing Harry openly who were then joined by a few elements from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. It took a minute or so for Harry to understand fully what was announced, during this period of confusion, Hermione held his hand in a silence to show him her unwavering support.

Five minutes later, Dumbledore dismissed the students to their dormitories but asked the champions to stay behind. Hermione rose from her seat, squeezed Harry's shoulder gently and told him that she would be waiting in the common room for him to return.

As everyone walked out of the great hall, the champions moved towards the teachers' table where the headmasters/headmistresses, Bagman and Percy were sitting. Dumbledore rose from his chair and asked everyone to join in his office for a discussion. He led the group towards his office, the group walked in total and awkward silence. As Dumbledore stepped closed to the gargoyle that hides the moving stairway to his office, leapt aside to reveal a gigantic bronze griffin that was fixed on the top of the axis of the stairway. Dumbledore stepped in front of the griffin statue and the stairway started to moved. Some faces in the corridor has the look of awe on their faces. The next minute everyone was inside the office of the Hogwarts headmaster.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk and conjured twelve chairs in the circular office, facing towards the centre. Harry took the chair closest to the door, Cedric sat on his right; Bagman occupied the chair on Dumbledore's right, Percy sitting next to him. It took a minute for everyone to settle down, a table appeared in the centre of the room, laden with an assortment of drink. A house-elf appeared a moment later and offered the drinks everyone requested, adults opting for stronger spirits while the younger members had to select from pumpkin juice or butterbeer.

Once everyone had taken a sip or two from their drinks, Dumbledore broke the silence. "The reason I asked all of you to accompany me to the office was to get the chance to clear the air, so to speak. The aim of this competition was to make way for international cooperation and friendship among the future generations." He sighed, it felt like the almighty Dumbledore let slip his composure just for a second, the moment was gone as soon as it came. "I hope that this attempt will not fail due to some accidental or premeditated, intentional or unintentional actions of some as I believe that those actions were not in any ill will. It is my humble request to all of you that any mistakes made by anyone till this point should be forgotten and we start with a blank slate." The last statement was directed towards Harry and Krum. Everyone in the room had blank, thoughtful expressions, absorbing Dumbledore's words and coming to their conclusions and decision.

Dumbledore raised his glass, "to the hope that this tournament will forge new bonds of friendship and cooperation." Everyone raised their glasses and drank as Dumbledore toasted.

The only thought racing through Dumbledore's mind was the 'discussion' the officials had after the task. The discussion soon turned into a heated argument, he had been chief warlock for years and was no stranger to heated arguments but todays was altogether on a different level. It had egos clashing, tempers flaring, couple of shouting matches and a barely avoided duelling matches. Everyone wanted someone to get to the top and everyone had a favourite, it took Dumbledore's best effort to pacify everyone so that they can again think rationally. Calling everyone to his office was his way to offer an olive branch so that no animosity or grudges remain after tonight. He hoped that he had succeeded to some degree.


	13. B1: Chapter 13 - Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry for this long gap but my final year project deadline is inching closer, the next 2-3 chapters will be most probably fortnightly updated. I am trying to improve my writing but it would take a lot of time, as I don't have any beta there is very high probability of mistakes being in the story. If you find any issues, please PM me. I am trying to wind-up the year under 100k words so that I can finally move to the next book. OotP was my favourite as it was the best written one with so many possibilities.

Please Review.

Chapter Thirteen: Unexpected Visitor

Harry was having a lie in, being a Saturday nobody was going to disturb him. The task yesterday and the rollercoaster of feelings afterwards Harry was exhausted enough to sleep for eleven hours straight, skipping breakfast in the process. He was unaware of the turbulence he was about to face, rather he was busy with his dream; unlike most of his dreams, these were very pleasant as it contained people he cherished in his life.

He was on a beach, with his friends and the Marauders, having a birthday party. It was twilight with the sun sinking on the horizon in the background, they were all gathered around a small campfire. Sirius was drunk dancing and everyone was having a good laugh at his antics, everyone was singing something together, enjoying themselves thoroughly.

He was brought out of the pleasant dream by a more pleasant touch on his forehead and hairs. He kept his eyes shut and enjoyed the warmth and gentleness of the touch, a grin appearing on his face. He somehow knew that the touch can only belong to Hermione and he did not want it to end.

Hermione had come upstairs to the boys' dorm to wake Harry up, to make sure that he did not miss lunch as well. When she arrived in the room, she saw the peaceful sleeping form of Harry, all tangled in his bedsheet. He had a small smile on his face, a certain sign of a happy dream. She could not bring herself wake him up so she just sat on the edge of his bed, her eyes fixed on his face. She could not resist the temptation to touch his peaceful face, her hand slowly moved towards his forehead. She caressed his forehead gently, her fingers tracing the cursed scar. She moved her hand further upwards and was stroking his hair when she noticed that his smile widened. He slowly leaned into her touch and a small happy moan came from him. He slowly opened his eyes to find one his bushy-haired girlfriend looking at him.

"Hey", she said with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Hey, I could get used to it." Harry replied, his voice still raspy from waking up but the big smile still in place.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! It's already eleven, wouldn't want to miss your lunch now, would we?" She patted his shoulder and left him to get ready.

Harry was in the common room within half an hour and walked to the table by window where Hermione sat in an armchair with Crookshanks wrapped around her ankles. She had a book open in her hand which looked like a non-academic book, Harry knew that she liked to read but this was the first time he was witnessing her reading something beyond academics.

Harry was feeling a bit happy and mischievous, he silently walked up to her and stood behind her chair. He leaned forward so that his mouth was mere inches away from her ear.

"BOO!" That was enough to make her jump out of the chair with a loud shriek of surprise. Crookshanks jumped away from her previous position with a hiss, unhappy at being displaced this rudely from her position. Hermione's reaction caused the book to fly out of her hand and hit a fifth-year sitting in a chair not far away. This caused Harry to double over laughing. Hermione turned red with embarrassment, she swatted Harry good-naturedly at the back of his head for his action but could not resist herself from joining in the laughter, god! His laugh was contiguous.

Harry accio-ed her book and sat in the chair opposite to her, he read the title of the book and was surprised that it was a muggle fiction book, 'Pride & Prejudice'. When he asked her about the book and the author, he never expected the twenty-minute-long lecture he received about the relevance of the works and thoughts of Jane Austen even after almost two centuries. Harry wasn't complaining about it, he enjoyed watching her into the 'lecture mode', she looked confident and in control; her eyes held a distinct twinkle when she explained something.

As the clock struck twelve, they walked down to the great hall. Harry was expecting some stares and glares from the student body due to yesterday's events but he was not expecting the pin drop silence that greeted him, every eye had a hostile look etched into them, some directed it towards him and the remaining towards the girl beside him. They sat across Neville who handed them today's Daily Prophet and asked them to flip to society page. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she read through the article, Harry had the same reaction as he read the article over Hermione's shoulder.

 ** _Dangerous Lovebirds_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _The recently concluded second task of the tournament brought forth a very interesting story which this investigative reporter was happy to bring to the avid readers. It seems, the teenaged darling couple of Hogwarts is quite dangerous._

 _In a previous article, this reporter had informed the readers that the Bulgarian quidditch star, Viktor Krum fancied the bucktoothed muggleborn Hogwarts student, Hermione Granger and has been seen spending some alone time with her in the Hogwarts library. It was also reported that the aforementioned witch is in a relationship with famous young wizard, the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter. Recent events in Hogwarts show this love triangle in a different light._

 _Sources suggest that Miss Granger was the hostage for the Durmstrang champion instead of the youngest one. During his quest to rescue his damsel in distress, the Bulgarian seeker was attacked by the hot-headed Hogwarts hero. He was stupefied by Mr. Potter in the depths of black lake. After the task, Mr. Krum approached the muggleborn witch and bared his heart in front of her._

 _"Mione, you were my hostage. I wanted to say, I like you. I would like to ask you for a date." The said witch brutally shattered his heart with a blunt negative response, informing him to stay away from her in the process._

 _The weekend before the Valentine's Day, I was threatened by the said witch when I requested an interview with the couple. Mr. Potter defended the witch and followed with a threat of his own. The attack on the Durmstrang Champion and Mr. Potter's overprotective response, certainly raises some questions._

 _To find out more about the people in question, I corresponded with a couple of students from the same year as that of Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger._

 _"She us just a know-it-all bookworm, she is not beautiful, not even pretty, rather plain looking. Everyone was shocked when the news started making rounds that they were together. She is good at studies and potions, it's possible that she used love-potion on him." Pansy Parkinson, a fellow fourth-year was happy to give her views on the matter. "Potter is an arrogant, hot-headed git. He thinks that he owns the castle. He is violent towards anyone who doesn't follow his word."_

 _This journalist wants to ask the people responsible for the safety of this young students, the people who are supposed to take care about our young ones, I want to ask them to introspect. What are they doing which is resulting into these proponents developing in the premier educational institute of this country._

Harry was angry beyond the limit he could possibly be with a human being and next to him Hermione was seething with fury. If it wasn't for Harry's hold on her forearm, she would have bolted out of the great hall. The group hurriedly finished their lunch and walked out of the great hall, the group which did not contain Ron but had Susan and Hannah. They walked towards the kitchen and sat on the table, Hannah and Neville sitting across from Hermione who was bracketed by Harry and Susan. Dobby placed five goblets of hot chocolate on the table and left quickly after he exchanged the pleasantries. Everyone gave Hermione some time to get the rage out of her system, she ranted about how Skeeter was getting the news and the lies she printed. After fifteen minutes, she had calmed down enough to enjoy her cup of hot chocolate.

Everyone was pitching their thoughts about how she was getting all the news and show she got the exact words of Viktor Krum. "Maybe she has us bugged!" Harry said, more like thinking out loud.

"Bugged?" Neville asked with a confused look. Hermione explained the muggle terminology in the context. They left the kitchen an hour later, their hands full with pastries and small cakes. Everyone's anger had subsided, except Harry; he wasn't angry for whatever was written about himself but it was a different story about the slander Hermione was facing. He was angry on her behalf, he just wanted to be left alone.

Hermione decided to do some research about possible magical methods that can be used for eavesdropping and left for the library. Five minutes later, Neville and Hannah left for a stroll in search of some private time, leaving Susan and Harry in the kitchen.

"What do you want to do now?" Susan asked Harry. Harry contemplated his response for a moment then answered with a smile.

"I haven't been to flying for almost three months, maybe a broom ride. Want to join?"

"Not a big fan of flying, Harry. But maybe I can have a go at your Firebolt." Susan answered with a hopeful look. Harry agreed and they both went to Gryffindor tower to collect Harry's Firebolt which was delivered a couple of weeks ago. Fifteen minutes later, they were on the quidditch pitch, Harry offered her the first ride which she was hesitant to go ahead with.

"Could you accompany me?" Susan asked, her head bowed down and her cheeks flushed red. In response, Harry's face flushed too, he was unable to respond without stuttering. Finally, Susan took pity on him and told that its ok if he might get uncomfortable. Harry relented and agreed to accompany her to the ride.

It took ten minutes of flying before Harry could overcome his awkwardness at being this close to Susan but once it was out of the picture, they both enjoyed the ride for the next half hour. A few suspicious and somewhat jealous eyes were watching from the stands.

-X-X-

When Hermione returned to the common room, Harry was nowhere to be seen. There usual couch and armchairs in front of the fireplace was occupied by the twins, Lee and the three Gryffindor chasers. She eyed the tables in the corner and other seats but could not find Harry, although she came across Ron who was busy playing chess with Seamus and Neville who was finishing some assignment. She walked up to him and asked if he had seen Harry, Neville answered that he hadn't seen him since they went to kitchen together.

There were some whispers, followed by giggling sounds from behind her which stopped the moment she turned her head. She eyed the occupants of the chairs behind her and turned in her chair so that she was facing the occupants who were eyeing her with wicked gleam in their eyes. They were the fifth-year girls and Ginny was sitting with them, Ginny looked at her with apologetic expression.

"Seems like he prefers company of more filled, red-heads." One of the girls commented in a sarcastic tone. Hermione looked towards Ginny for an explanation, Ginny was trying to avoid looking into her eyes.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked a bit more forcefully. Ginny finally looked into her eyes and explained what she saw at the quidditch pitch. She told that Harry was teaching Susan how to fly on the broom, how closely they were sitting and the laughs they shared. By the end of it, she was red with jealously-fuelled anger. She ran out of the common room in search of Harry and most probably Susan.

Her brain was working to eliminate the improbable location they could be at. She had just been in library so it was not an option, they had left the quidditch pitch, according to Ginny, so that was out of question, Harry won't go to Hufflepuff common room as he was well aware that he won't be a welcome guest there at present, Harry is not Ron so kitchen was also not the place, it was highly improbable that he would go to Hagrid's hut with Susan. This deduction process was so crude that it left almost eighty percent of possible locations in the castle and on the castle grounds. So, she started working with the highly probable ones, the oak tree on the lake shore was the top one, there were more than eight courtyards and gardens around Hogwarts and a few deserted corridors. The stone bridge and wooden bridge connecting the castle to the surrounding forest were also good options, the only problem was they were on different sides of the castle.

She pushed all these thoughts as they were just confusing her even more so she just ran towards the oak tree on the lake shore, where her instincts guided her. As she came out of the entrance hall and walked through the garden she and Harry had seen Snape and Karkaroff having an argument during Yule Ball.

Her insecurities kicked in when she saw Harry and Susan sitting on a wrought garden bench on the far side, laughing about something. The bounds on her jealousy were broken when she saw Susan gently placing her hand on Harry's right arm while laughing over something Harry said, she was fuming after witnessing the blatant flirtatious display by the Hufflepuff redhead. She walked towards them as fast as she could without breaking into a run. Susan saw her walking towards them from twenty feet away and joking said, "Hey Hermione, thanks for lending me your boyfriend without asking", meanwhile Susan coiled her arms around Harry's right arm good-naturedly. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say at the moment as Hermione almost pushed Susan out of the bench, away from Harry and threw her arms around Harry's neck. She kissed Harry's cheeks repeatedly as if marking him as 'her'. A few treacherous tears escaped from her eyes and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. A moment later Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione and started to gently pat her hairs, he was a bit shocked by her actions but understood that words weren't necessary right now.

Susan stepped closer to the couple and placed one hand on each one's shoulder in an assuring way. She wanted to give them their privacy but the confused and stunned look on Harry's face stopped her momentarily.

"Harry?" Susan asked hesitantly which was met with a snarling one word response from Hermione, "mine!".

It took a second for Susan to get any hint about what was happening but she understood that Hermione was jealous about her being with Harry and a knowing smile crept on her face. She gave a nod to Harry and walked away. The couple sat in the same position for the next five minute after which Harry gently pushed Hermione away so he can look into her eyes. He was aware they a few tears have raced down her face; his clothes were wet where they had fallen.

"What happened Hermione?" He asked her as she was trying to compose herself.

"why did you take Susan for flying on your broom? Can't she use her own?" Her eyes must have shown the jealousy because someone as clueless about emotions as Harry was able to understand the reason of her outburst.

"I thought you hated flying so I took some other girl." He replied cheekily, trying to lighten the mood. This response earned him a glare and a light slap on his shoulder. He burst out laughing on Hermione's antics and raised her hands in front to stall any further physical responses from Hermione. A few seconds later when Harry's laughter had subsided, he asked her again about what had made her so jealous to set her off, Hermione told her what had happened in the common room and what she saw in the garden.

"You know when you landed on me from the sky, I was telling her about the day we first met Fluffy. We were laughing about your comment about us dying." Harry told Hermione with a broad grin pasted on his face. Hermione turned red with embarrassment and hid her face in her hands.

"I was twelve!" she answered from behind her palms. This again set off Harry laughing, Hermione started to swat Harry on his arm which only resulted in increased laughter and the next minute they were lying on the ground in a heap, laughing. Harry was tickling Hermione mercilessly, Hermione was scolding herself for telling Harry that she was ticklish on sides and stomach. They spoke for the next thirty minutes where Harry tried his best to push her insecurities out.

"Want to go for a ride on Firebolt?" Harry asked her with a genuinely curious expression.

"Maybe." She answered with her eyes downcast and her hands wringing together.

"We will go after dinner then." Harry answered and they walked towards the great hall as it was already time for dinner.

They returned in time for dinner and Hermione was determined to apologize to Susan after dinner for her actions this evening. Dinner went without any major incident and after she was done, Hermione walked to the Hufflepuff table and asked Susan if they can talk after she was done. Once Susan and Hermione were behind closed doors, Hermione gathered her courage to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Susan, for whatever happened this evening." Hermione started but stopped when Susan gave her a smile and waved her apology.

"I understand Hermione, you were jealous it's ok. Although, I hope that you won't get jealous about me." Hermione just smiled with an apologetic look on her face. "I won't deny that I like Harry but I won't create any interference between you two or sabotage your relationship. Don't worry about it." Hermione had a shocked expression after that revelation. After looking at the stunned Hermione, Susan stepped closer to her and cupped her face with both her hands so that Hermione was looking in her eyes.

"He is with you and I hope it won't change, I believe it won't." She winked at her and walked out of the room to join Hannah.

"What was that about?" Hannah asked her when she came towards her.

"Early stage of love." She answered with a cheeky smile. "Jealousy of puppy love, possessiveness of Gryffindors, nothing new actually."

-X-X-

Hermione walked towards Harry so they can go for a ride before the gate was closed but her jealousy once again kicked in as she walked towards him. He was standing in the entrance hall talking to Fleur Delacour, he looked a bit uncomfortable but Fleur was talking to him with a very bright smile. It didn't help that she looked flawless as always. Harry turned towards her when she came closer, Hermione instinctively wrapped her right arm around Harry's left, this wasn't missed by the French champion who gave her a knowing smile.

Harry introduced Hermione to Fleur, Hermione exchanged pleasantries in a very dry tone which was borderline rude. This surprised Harry a bit but he understood her feeling due to the events of the evening. Harry tried his best to end the conversation as soon as possible so that he can put Hermione's mind at ease.

"I will see you tomorrow after lunch then. Good night Fleur." Fleur gave him a smile and a nod and walked away, leaving a stunned Hermione.

"You are going on a date with Fleur?" Hermione asked in a very angry and hurt tone, shocked that Harry would betray her and do something of this sort. This was met with laughter from Harry which was silenced in a second as Hermione glared at him.

"It's not a date with Fleur, Hermione. She just wanted to thank me for saving her sister's life yesterday and invited _us_ for tea tomorrow. And yes, 'us' means we two, she invited you too but I was not sure if you would like to come." Harry answered her, his eyes searching any clue that could tell if he was in danger.

"Oh", Hermione was a bit surprised that the French champion would ask about her. "I would love to."

-X-X-

Hermione was jittery with an amalgamation of fear and nervousness born out of anticipation. She had never told it to anybody but she was unable to will her broom to rise from the ground in her first flying lesson. She was saved from the embarrassment by Neville. His accident had been a welcome distraction, in a morbid sense of way. She had not been needed to follow through that same step in any future class. In a way, this would be her first flying lesson.

Harry just handed her the broom which she held as if it will bite her the next moment. Her face clearly displayed her nervousness, Harry stepped behind her and rested his hands on her shoulder in an assuring manner to relax her. He corrected her grip and asked her to mount the broom so he can correct her posture and make some arrangements, Hermione followed with some initial hesitation. Once her posture and grip was corrected to the satisfactory position, Harry mounted behind her, his right arm wrapped around her belly while his left held the broom just below Hermione's grip.

"Hermione, now take a drip breath and relax. Keep your eyes ahead and gently pull the broom upwards." Hermione followed the instruction without any second thoughts. The broom was now pointing just above the horizontal level.

"Good, now think about moving up and ahead, slowly." He instructed and with his grip on broom handle, he changed the orientation with precision so that the broom started to glide upwards and slowly started to move forward.

"Ok, now relax your shoulders, push the broom slightly down to make it level and will it to move forward with some speed."

After ten minutes of such instructions, after which Hermione's nerves were somewhat under control and she had a feel of controlling the broom so that the awkwardness was on decline, he took control and accelerated the broom forward. Hermione was shocked but a shriek escaped her and suddenly she was afraid of falling down.

"Are you afraid of heights, Hermione?" Harry asked her as they gained speed. The response was just a nod, the shock was now creeping inside. "Hermione just relax, close your eyes if you feel so and just enjoy the feeling of the wind against your face and hair."

Suffice to say that afterwards they enjoyed thirty minutes or flying without any more shriek of panic and fear. It was a new experience for Hermione but she was now certain that she might grow to like flying, or at the least, give it another try.

-X-X-

Fleur was leading the couple towards the Beauxbatons carriage after lunch. As they entered the carriage, both noticed that it was similar to the tent they had stayed during the quidditch world cup as it was quite large from inside. The interior was done in pale blue and cream colours, the walls had pale blue wallpaper with various designs on them in cream colour. The room they were standing in was the common room cum reading room, the furniture was not as old-styled as the Gryffindor one but still belonged to the previous century. The room had three couches in 'C' formation in front of the fireplace on the opposite wall with a wooden coffee table in the centre, the side walls had bookshelves which completely covered the walls, there were twelve armchairs in the room around four tables, two on each side of the room.

There were two doors on the nearside, one on each side. Fleur explained that the left one led towards the headmistress's office and staff quarters, the right one led to a kitchen and a small dining room. The two staircases on the opposite side of the room led towards the student quarters, right one towards girls' side and left one towards boys. Unlike Hogwarts, Beauxbatons provided individual rooms for students above fourth year but the washrooms and bathrooms were still shared.

She told them to climb up the right staircase and go to the #3 quarter, she would join them in a minute. Harry was hesitant as he was uncertain that he would be allowed to go on the girls' side, Fleur assured him that French were more open regarding these things as older students were allowed during day time, she told that they trusted the students to behave responsibly.

The moment Harry entered the room, he was attacked by a silver haired torpedo which clung to his body. She was saying something in rapid French, Hermione could not hold her laughter at the sight and the words of the French girl. She told the younger girl that Harry did not understand French, in French which shocked Harry, Hermione whispered to Harry that she learned a bit of French when she was younger. Fleur entered the room to this scene, and dragged her younger sister away from Harry who was red with embarrassment.

They had an enjoyable afternoon with the French girls, Gabrielle was a hyperactive nine-year-old who could not stop talking in French or in broken English. Hermione realized that Fleur was not a shallow beauty without brain, she was one of the top students in her year and was very good with ancient runes and charms. Fleur explained that Beauxbatons emphasized on studies and other activities, like quidditch, were not that prevalent, this did not imply that there were no extra-curricular activities in the school. Gabrielle was sitting next to Harry and was most certainly enjoying the time with the hero who saved her from the depths of a dark lake. The older girls enjoyed watching Harry squirm as Gabrielle fussed about Harry.

Fleur told Harry that she was at a disadvantage during the second task as it involved water, her being a Veela, stacked the odds against her as her magic was very weak inside water. Harry somewhat understood the reason why it was a big deal for Fleur. They left the French accommodations around three and returned to the castle.

-X-X-

April 15, 1995

The last month and half had been as eventless as it could be, the only thing that was noteworthy didn't happen to Harry but with Cedric. A week or so from the second task, Cedric broke with Cho and was seen with the American champion on multiple occasions. The silence was a welcome thing to Harry's life, no articles, no rumours, no gossips about him. He was enjoying this period of peace; the only problem was they had no clue about what would they be facing in the final task. It was a bit frustrating in the sense that they did not know what to prepare for, this left Hermione to compile a long list of charms, hexes, curses and counter-curses that could be used in any confrontational situation. Harry had to put extra effort to practice all the spells and to the satisfactory level of Hermione.

This afternoon, Harry received a note from the headmaster that he was to reach the quidditch pitch, just after dinner. Finally, there was something related to the final task was happening, he was distracted the whole day in the anticipation of the evening. He finished dinner in a hurry and walked towards the quidditch pitch, on his way down to the pitch, he met Zoe who was walking with Cedric. After the exchange of pleasantries, they walked in complete silence until someone called Harry from behind. He turned to find Fleur walking towards him with a smile. The four champions walked towards the pitch without many words being shared among them.

The group was greeted by Ludo Bagman at the entrance to the teachers' stand. They waited for the other two champions who arrived within five minutes.

"Shall we?", with that Bagman opened the gate that led to the pitch. The sight which they now came across was a stark contrast to the sight Harry was familiar with. The stands were completely changed and it looked like there were extension charms placed on the pitch, the well-maintained grass pitch had knee-high hedges growing randomly. Hagrid was standing there with a few people in different coloured uniforms, surely ministry people.

"Give it the month and they will be as high as the stands." Bagman said, giving an appreciative look to the hedges. Harry and Cedric had a feeling of unease, this discomfort was due to the state of the quidditch pitch. Bagman noted the reaction as he tried to give the two Hogwarts champions some assurance. "Don't worry boys, you will have your pitch back in pristine condition after the task."

"Can anyone of you tell me, what is it?" He asked to the champions. There was no answer for a few seconds, the silence was broken by the Japanese champion. "It's a maze."

"Correct, Mr. Ohara. It indeed is a maze, that's your final task." He answered with a broad grin on his face.

"That izz eet? Surely eet can't be that seemple." Fleur asked with an incredulous look.

"There will be a handful of hurdles. Apart from that, all you have to do is reach to the cup which will be in the centre of the maze. Whoever reaches it first, wins." After his explanation, he eyed every champion before continuing. "We will be locking the pitch till the day of the task to prepare it."

The group started to disperse after ten minute, Harry was roped in in a conversation about quidditch by Bagman. Harry noticed that Krum was standing on the side of the exit, looking in his direction repeatedly. After a minute or two, Harry and Bagman started to walk out of the pitch.

"Harry, could we valk togezzer, alone?" Krum asked Harry as they came closer. Bagman looked towards Harry to make sure that everything was alright. Harry gave him a nod and told Bagman that he would be fine walking with Krum. As the two champions stepped out of pitch, Harry saw that Fleur was also waiting for Harry. Harry told that Krum wanted to talk to him in private, understanding the situation, she kept fifteen step distance between the duo and herself.

"Are you and 'Mione togezzer?" Harry was taken aback by the straightforwardness of Krum's question, he composed himself and thought to answer the question without sounding rude.

"She is my girlfriend, yes." Harry answered while keeping his face straight.

"Are you two serious about each ozzer?" Krum continued with his line of questioning, Harry's temper was on the verge now. 'Can't he just take a hint?' He thought to himself.

"Krum, I don't want to sound rude but you are not giving me any option here. Stay away from her." By this time, they had reached the paddock for the Beauxbatons' Abraxans. Harry stepped closer to Fleur, completely ignoring Krum now, so that he could talk to Fleur about why she was waiting. Seeing that he won't get Harry's attention, Krum started to walk in the direction of Durmstrang ship.

As Harry and Fleur stepped closer to the paddock, Fleur spoke in a very gentle voice, as if trying not to wake up the sleeping creatures.

"You know, Abraxan are my favourite creatures." But before she could continue, there was some movement closer to the edge of the forest. Harry turned towards the sound to examine the cause, he instinctively pulled Fleur away from the direction by her elbow and took a couple of steps towards the forest while drawing his wand, Fleur followed the suit and drew her wand in an instant.

The next moment, someone tumbled out of the forest and fell on the ground face first. Harry ran to him to check, he was shocked when he came face to face with Mr. Crouch. He was trying to say something, his voice was barely audible, his eyes were unfocussed and had a fearful look in them. Harry leaned closer to hear what Crouch was trying to say, the only words he could understand were, 'Dumbledore', 'Weatherby', 'son', 'mistake', 'home', 'vol-'.

He turned towards Fleur, who was frozen at the spot, completely shocked. "Keep an eye on him, I will get headmaster." With those words, he ran full speed towards the castle, on his way he saw Krum just outside the entrance hall courtyard. Harry thought that he should ask Krum to go and stay with Fleur until he could bring Headmaster but he dropped the idea the next moment.

He had just turned towards the corridor that led to Headmaster's office when his path crossed with professor Moody.

"What got you so worried Potter?" Moody asked in his growling voice. Harry gave him a short version of the incident. "Get Dumbledore, password is 'chocolate pots', run now!" Moody turned towards the opposite way and walked as fast as he could towards the spot in question. Harry did not waste any time and ran to headmaster's office, gave the password to the gargoyle and knocked on the office door when he reached there. After getting the permission to enter, Harry ran inside hurriedly and explained the incident as quickly as he could. Not unlike Moody, Dumbledore did not waste any time in questioning Harry any further and ran towards the castle ground with a speed unimaginable for someone as old as Dumbledore. When Harry and headmaster reached the spot, they saw Fleur sitting on the ground, rubbing her forehead gently, while Moody was coming out of the woods.

"What happened here Alastor?" Dumbledore asked Moody in a deathly serious voice.

"Girl was lying on the ground, unconscious, when I arrived here. No sign of Crouch so I checked the forest, he wouldn't have gone too far." Moody replied, his natural eye fixed on Dumbledore while the electric blue eye was rotating in the socket.

Dumbledore turned to Fleur to ask some questions, she told that she was hit by something from behind and the next thing she saw was Harry and Dumbledore running towards her. Once Dumbledore was satisfied with her answers, he asked Harry to escort her to the carriage and come to his office in an hour. Harry nodded and walked fleur to the carriage and bid her goodbye.

An hour later, he was standing in front of Dumbledore's office, there were voices coming from the other side, they were not happy voices but Harry was unable to hear what exactly was being discussed. Dumbledore asked him to enter after five minutes.

As he entered, he noticed that Dumbledore was in the company of Minister Fudge and Percy Weasley, Moody was standing on the side of the room, near the window. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk while the chairs in front were occupied by the Minister and Percy.

Once the greetings were exchanged, Dumbledore told that he would be escorting the minister and Percy out of the castle and will return in ten minutes.

Harry was standing alone in the headmaster's office. It wasn't the first time he had visited the office but it looked very different in the evening lights. The shelfs were full with different shiny instruments, glass bottles and vials, crystal jars, a few had books too. Harry turned to the wall opposite to the fireplace, the cabinet there wasn't completely closed. There was a gentle silver glow coming from behind it. Harry carefully stepped closer and opened the cabinet to find something that looked like a stone basin. The basin had runes carved into it, the intricacy of the runes was beyond Harry but the design looked beautiful. The basin was filled with something silver, it looked like water but a glow was emanating from it. Harry leaned forward to observe it more carefully and the next moment, he was falling into the basin.

A/N: the chapter is not too long, very high possibility that there will be too many mistakes, if anyone finds some, please PM me.


	14. B1: Chapter 14 - Penseive

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter is longer than the last two three chapters and I hope there aren't many mistakes. The chapter will push story towards the end. You might think that the initial part of the chapter may resemble to that of the canon because I was trying my best to do so and hence a few lines are picked from the original work. The article ' _The-Boy-Who-is-Disturbed-and-Dangerous_ ' is taken from the book with minor correction to suit the story here.

Please Review.

 **Chapter Fourteen: Penseive**

Harry was in a free fall but it didn't feel the same, he knew what a free fall feels like, he had experienced it during a quidditch match in his third year, thanks to dementors. This time, there was no wind in his hair, his clothes weren't flying in the gust, the pull wasn't as strong as gravity. The feeling was somewhat similar to that of an elevator except there was no cabin.

His feet touched ground and the world around him materialized out of a whirlpool of silver smoke. He was standing in an oval shaped room with high stone ceiling, Harry could not find the basin window he had fallen from. There were no windows in the room, just a solitary door on the end of the room, the room was lit with torches hanging from the walls. There were benches along the sides of the room, rising in level, there were at the least two hundred people sitting in the room. There was a balcony just above the door where 30-40 people were sitting. Every occupant of the room was in black or dark grey cloaks and robes, every head had a pointy hat on top of it, the expressions on the faces were deadly serious, every eye was directed towards the door on the other end. Opposite to the door, there was a high seat occupied by none other than Barty Crouch.

The centre of the room had a stone chair, Harry had a very ominous feeling about it. There were chains hanging from it as if to tie the hands and legs of the occupant. Harry turned towards his left to see who he was sitting next to. To his surprise, it was Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Harry asked with a questioning look towards his headmaster but there was no response. Dumbledore was looking towards him but Harry had the feeling that he was looking through him as if he wasn't even there. He turned towards the other people occupying the room and he noticed that no one was paying him any attention, not even a glance. Then it clicked, but unless….

He stood and waved his arms energetically, stood on the bench and shouted 'hello' but nobody paid him any attention. This confirmed his theory, he was in a memory; he had experienced it before in his second year, thanks to Tom Riddle's diary. He turned back towards Dumbledore, he didn't look like the present-day Dumbledore, he looked younger, although he was still old with his long silver beard. Harry was brought out of his musings was the sound of gavel.

"Order!" Barty Crouch shouted from his high chair. He nodded towards the guards standing on either side of the door and they walked out of it, returning a few seconds later with company. Two guards were closely followed by three figures in black, a man in black robe flanked by two dementors. The dementors deposited the man in black cloak in the chair in the centre, the chains sprang to life and snapped themselves around his limbs. The guards stepped back and closed the door while the dementors were floating on either side of the chair, a couple of feet behind. Everyone in the room recoiled slightly when the dementors did not leave the room, Harry knew that everyone was feeling their worst around these filthy creatures. Harry was shocked when the cloaked figure raised his head, it was Karkaroff. He looked like he was about to faint, he looked younger, his hairs all black.

"The full bench of Wizengamot is present today for the emergency hearing regarding the plea of Igor Karkaroff concerning presentation of evidence and important information to the Ministry of Magic." Karkaroff straightened himself as best as he could with all the restrains as the case was announced.

"Igor Karkaroff, you are brought here from Azkaban with the understanding that you have some important information for the Ministry. If the information provided by you is found unhelpful, you will be held in contempt for wasting the time of this body. Do you understand."

"I do, sir." Karkaroff answered, fear was evident in his voice. "I want to help the Ministry in rounding the last supporters of the Dark Lord."

There were loud murmurs around the room at this announcement. Every eye was surveying Karkaroff's face, some with interest and the remaining with mistrust. There was a loud snort from the other side of Dumbledore, Harry leaned in to find who was sitting there because the snort sounded familiar. He was not surprised to find Mad-Eye Moody sitting there but he was surprised that the person sitting there had not become 'Mad-Eye' yet. His face had scars and marks and was missing bits and pieces of his skin and flesh but his both eyes were present.

"Crouch is going to let him walk away if he gets enough new names out of him. It took me six months and a piece of my nose to track down and capture this piece of filth. Let's throw him to the dementors once we get the names out of this bastard." Moody whispered to Dumbledore so no one else could hear him. Dumbledore wasn't impressed by his thoughts and made him aware with a small voice of dissent.

"Ah, I remember, you are not a fan of them, are you Albus?" Moody asked Dumbledore with a snort.

"No, Ministry was wrong to trust these creatures and allying with them is just indigestible to me Alastor." Dumbledore answered, his eyes boring into the side of Karkaroff's head.

"But this kind of filth deserve it." Moody answered and turned back towards the proceeding.

"…. I regret that I ever counted myself as his follower." Karkaroff continued until he was interrupted by Crouch.

"We have this speech of yours, we want names Karkaroff. If you are unable to provide us then we have no choice." Crouch spoke in his stern manner.

"No wait, I will give you names but you must understand that…. That no one else apart from the Dark Lord himself knew everyone."

"Yeah, so a rat like you can't betray him. He was genius in this regard, wasn't he Albus?" Moody asked in his sardonic manner.

"The names are some of the core members of his followers. I have seen them…."

"And helped them." Moody commented.

"…. Doing Dark Lord's bidding of their own free will." Karkaroff continued, "I am giving these names as a symbol of remorse for my actions in the…."

"Give me the names!" Crouch shouted which snapped everyone's attention and Karkaroff looked stunned.

"Antonin Dolohov, he used Crutiatus on muggles and non-believers."

"Arrested." Crouch said and Karkaroff's face fell, suddenly he looked panicked.

"Rosier, Evan Rosier?"

"Dead."

"Travers?"

"Arrested."

"Mulciber?"

"Arrested."

"Rookwood?"

"Augustus Rookwood, from Department of Mysteries?" Crouch asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes, that's the one." Karkaroff suddenly looked hopeful. "He networked inside and outside the ministry for information."

"Very well. If that's all, you will be escorted back to Azkaban while we decide upon the names." Crouch said while writing something on a parchment.

"No! Snape, Severus Snape. He was a Death Eater." Karkaroff shouted, he was on the verge of tears, he was rapidly losing all hope of freedom.

"He was indeed a Death Eater." Dumbledore said while rising to his feet. "But before the downfall of Voldemort, he turned to our side and acted as a spy at great risk of his personal safety."

"If you have no other names, guards, escort him back while this body reviews your plea." Crouch commanded and the two dementors closed the distance between the chair and themselves.

"No! No, wait! I have more names. Please listen to me!" Karkaroff pleaded, Crouch gave a wave to the dementors to stay back. "Ludovic Bagman, he was an informant for Rookwood."

The surroundings turned into a whirlpool of silvery mist, it felt pleasantly cold and a few moments later, surroundings settled into a new scene.

The scene changed but not much, instead of Karkaroff, now Bagman sat in the chair in the centre. The chains were absent and so were the tattered robes Karkaroff was wearing, Bagman was in silk robes which spoke that a lot of galleons changed hands for it.

"…. I did not know that he was in with You-Know-Who. I thought I was helping our side by giving him information. He offered to consider me for job in Ministry in future." Bagman was saying with a disinterested look on his face.

"We will put this to vote." Crouch announced.

The scene changed again in a whirlpool of silvery mist and settle after a few moments but this time it was much gloomier and every face in the room was deathly pale. There were now eight dementors who were dragging four people with them, these four people had chains hanging from their hands and legs, hindering their chances of running away. As they came closer to the centre of the room, three more chairs appeared out of nowhere. The four people were then seated and their limbs tied to the chairs.

In this four people, three were man and a woman. They were all black cloaks eerily similar to the Death Eaters he had seen during the quidditch world cup final. Two of the men were in their early-thirties and so was the woman, the remaining member of the group was very young, maybe nineteen or twenty. The woman sat in the chair as if it was a throne, a smile fixed on her face which was cascaded by black curls, she had thick eyelashes and brows which hooded her shining eyes. The two men sitting on her right looked nervous and their blank eyes were fixed on Crouch. The boy looked petrified with fear, he did not even raise his head.

"The body has heard the evidence against you for the heinous crimes previously unheard of." Crouch was saying, his eyes fixed on the woman in the chair who responded with a broad smile.

"Father, please…." The boy said in the most heart-wrenching plea.

"You are accused of capturing and torturing Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom with the use of Crutiatus Curse for information regarding the whereabouts of You-Know-Who."

"I didn't father, please, I didn't do it." There were now tears rolling down his face. "Don't throw me to the dementors."

"I ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that this crime should be punished with a life sentence to Azkaban." Crouch asked and turned towards the members of the body who raised their hands in unison. Crouch stroked his gavel to mark the decision and pronounced the sentence.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! And we will be rewarded beyond any of his other supporters."

"I am your son, father, please!" The youngest of the four pleaded.

"I have no son." Crouch said and waved to the dementors to take them away.

"It's time to return, Harry." He heard someone say that on his left. It was Dumbledore but it was not the one in the memory, it was the real one. "Come!" and with that Dumbledore held his elbow and the next moment he was standing in the office of the headmaster.

The office was dimly lit, the only source of light was the fireplace, the basin was still emitting the silvery glow. Dumbledore drew his wand from his robes and moved the basin to his desk with a flick of his wand. He motioned Harry to take a seat and walked towards his own. Harry was too afraid to say anything, once Dumbledore sat in his chair, Harry started to apologize in a stuttering manner.

"I am sorry, professor…. I was…. It was…. The cabinet was open…. I just wanted to see." Harry's apology came to an abrupt end when Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Harry from rambling further.

"Curiosity is not a sin Harry, on the contrary, it is one of the more interesting traits of humanity. But curiosity with caution is a dangerous thing indeed." Dumbledore looked Harry with a critical eye, Harry on the other hand was looking at the basin with a curious look. "It's called a Penseive, Harry. Sometimes, I find myself and I am certain that you have experienced it too, that there is simply too much in my mind." Harry chuckled at that thought and a smile appeared on Dumbledore's face but he schooled his features instantly.

"It helps to go through my memories, like a photo album at my leisure. It's easier to recognize patterns." Dumbledore continued with his explanation.

"How?" Harry asked, unaware that he had spoken it out loud. Even if that was barely audible, Dumbledore heard it and proceeded to answer.

"Let me show you." Dumbledore brought his wand-tip to his temple and a moment later withdrew it. Harry saw no change except a few of Dumbledore's silver hair were now stuck with a wand. When the wand-tip was half a foot away from Dumbledore's head, Harry realized that the strands were not hair but thoughts or memories. Dumbledore touched the wand tip to the surface of the silvery substance in the basin and it glowed for a second before turning back to normal, he then swirled the substance twice and the surface changed to a difference scene.

"It's darkening Dumbledore, Karkaroff's too." It was the face of Hogwarts' potion master staring out of the basin. Dumbledore tapped the basin thrice and the scene changed, one which was still clear in Harry's memory. It was the piece of parchment with Harry's name on it and Dumbledore handed that slip to Harry, his own shocked face was looking back at him.

"I wanted to know what happened before you came to inform me about the incident, Harry. I would have preferred to wait but time is of paramount importance right now." Dumbledore told him, his expression that of worry and contemplation, hidden from everyone unless they were looking for it. Harry could see how old Dumbledore must be, he looked exhausted, Harry knew that he was old but his age never shadowed his persona but his age lines were prominent at that moment.

"Err…. Sir, I could show you…. If you can do the thing with the memory you did right now." Harry asked hesitantly, unsure if this request was overstepping the line. Dumbledore contemplated for a moment before he nodded in agreement.

"Harry, close your eyes and follow my instructions." Harry obediently followed that command and closed his eyes shut. "Now, I would like you to think about the incident in full detail, think about what you want to show me. Feel that memory, concentrate on it." Dumbledore gently touched the tip of his was to Harry's temple. "When you are ready Harry, just nod." A moment later, Harry gave the signal to extract the memory; Dumbledore pulled his wand slowly away from Harry's temple a second later, the wand-tip held the strand of memory which Dumbledore deposited in the Penseive. Harry opened his eyes once the new odd sensation of memory extraction died to find Dumbledore swirling the content of the Penseive with his wand.

"See you soon, Harry!" With that, Dumbledore dipped his face into the substance, Harry sat there for the next minute while Dumbledore went through his memory. Dumbledore returned with a worried expression etched on his face.

"How are your nightmares Harry? Have you woken up due to one recently?" Dumbledore asked Harry, his twinkling blue eyes boring deep into his emerald ones, Harry felt like Dumbledore could see into him with that gaze. He was shocked with that statement, he had told about that to only three people and he had no idea how Dumbledore knew about it as he was not one of them. Dumbledore understood the underlying question in his shocked reaction.

"Do you think you are Sirius's only correspondent Harry. Your afternoon visits in Shrieking Shack through the Whomping Willow are not discreet, Harry." Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked to the window on his left side. "You should have informed me, Harry." No words were exchanged for the next few minutes as both occupants of the room were in deep thought, although thinking about completely different things.

Dumbledore broke the silence five minutes later, "you might not know this Harry, but every muggleborn and muggle-raised student has a wizarding guardian. In ordinary circumstances, that responsibility lies with the head of your house." He turned to look at Harry before continuing, "But you are quite an extra-ordinary person, Harry. After Sirius's incarceration, I was made your wizarding guardian. I was unaware of this till the day you opened your Gringotts vault after your eleventh birthday. I received a letter, informing about it."

Harry's jaw hit the floor at this news, he was unable to wrap his mind around this declaration. The revelation left him stunned and speechless for the next few minutes. Dumbledore had a sympathetic look on his face, he was sure that Harry must be feeling as if going through a rollercoaster of revelations but the look on Harry's face got a chuckle from Dumbledore.

"At present, the responsibility of your well-being lies with me and I would be glad to hand over this responsibility to your godfather the day he walks free of all charges." Dumbledore resumed his seat and fixed Harry with a calculating gaze. "I want you to understand what I am about to tell you Harry. I want you to keep me informed about your life and your problems, Harry and that means being honest with me. Do you understand?" Harry simply nodded in response. "Good."

"Now, I would like you to not think too much about this evenings events Harry. You have a tournament to worry about. Off you go then!" Dumbledore gave him a smile and the words told Harry that the discussion was over. As Harry started to walk towards the, door Dumbledore stood from his chair behind the desk and floated the Penseive to place it back in the cupboard.

Harry opened the door to the office and was about to walk out of there when a question surfaced in his mind. He turned back towards the headmaster, his right hand still on the doorknob and asked, "sir, what happened with Crouch's son?"

"He was sent to Azkaban on a life sentence, he died a year in his sentence. He was buried on the Azkaban island." Dumbledore had stopped in his tracks while answering, he had a questioning look on his face. "Why would you ask?"

"It's just…. I have seen, err…. I saw him in my dreams professor. In the room, with Wormtail, Voldemort was also there but he wasn't in his body. He was…." Harry trailed, unable to put the experience in words. Dumbledore understood his dilemma and returned to his desk with the Penseive.

"Fortunately, we have a mean to examine the situation." Dumbledore replied and motioned for Harry to retake the chair across from him. A minute later, all the memories of nightmares were deposited in the magical device and Harry was about to leave when something came up in his mind. Dumbledore was busy with the memories for the next fifteen minutes while Harry just sat there, thinking about everything that had happened since this tournament begin.

Dumbledore returned from his memory-examination, his face had gone pale and an undecipherable expression masked his features but his eyes twinkled with excitement. "I had been on the verge of exhausting my considerable patience. All my line of thoughts ended in a dead-end, some important piece of this puzzle was missing all this time. You have given me enough to think about Harry, thank you."

"Sir, I kind of…. I kept a secret last year from you sir." Harry's facial features turned apologetic. "It involves Trelawney."

"Professor Trelawney, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him but motioned him to continue.

"The afternoon of Buckbeak's execution, I was in her class. Every student had already left and I was about to leave when I saw a fallen crystal ball which I went back to return it. I was about to leave when she stumbled towards me." Harry paused here for a moment, collecting and organizing his thoughts. "She told me something, her eyes were glazed as if she was looking beyond. Her voice was not her regular one, it was hoarse. Then, she said…."

Dumbledore leaned towards him, he was transfixed at Harry's words. His eyes held an inquisitiveness of a child, there were thousand scenarios running in his head but his mind was on Harry's words.

 _"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers._

 _His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight..._

 _The servant will break free and set out to re-join his master._

 _The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater, more terrible than ever._

 _Tonight…. Before midnight…. The servant…. Will set out…. To re-join…. His master..."_

Dumbledore moved back in his chair and slumped, if Harry thought that Dumbledore had gone pale after watching Harry's memories, now his face was ghostly pale. Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked to the fireplace, he stood leaning on the side of it, his eyes fixed on the cackling fire in it. Harry turned in his chair to keep his eyes on the headmaster, a hundred questions and a thousand worries bubbling inside him.

"But these were just nightmares and drunken words, they don't mean anything, do they?" Harry wanted the last part of the sentence to come out as a remark rather than a question. Dumbledore's sympathetic look told him that he wasn't successful with that effort.

"It was just a nightmare, Harry!" Dumbledore replied, turning back towards the fire. "Good night, Harry! I hope you don't have any of those tonight." Dumbledore didn't turn and Harry understood that he was finally dismissed.

He rose from his chair and walked out of the headmaster's office, down the stairway and towards the Gryffindor common room. A thousand jumbled thoughts were racing through his mind but there was nothing conclusive not even enough to direct towards a clue. He was walking towards the Gryffindor tower, mechanically, when he heard voices of disagreement coming from an out-of-use passage on the side of the corridor. He stepped closer to the corner to hear it better, he was unable to recognize the voices just yet but as he came closer to the edge, he recognized the speaker or speakers for that matter.

"I don't think that would be wise brother."

"I know but what choice do we have?"

"We will think of something, we always do, don't we?"

"It was two years' worth of savings!"

"I know it won't be easy to do again, even with the tournament bets, it will take time."

"He won't just hand over the galleons, we will need to push him."

"What's the guarantee that he would if we push him?"

"Next time we see him, we are talking to him, whatever it takes or we will tell dad."

"Telling dad would do us no good brother."

"Filing a formal complaint against him would?"

After a moment of silence, he heard footsteps coming in his direction so he instinctively turned and started to walk but in his haste, he forgot that his footsteps also echoed in the empty corridor. Before he could walk five steps, he heard a voice coming from the passage.

"Who's there?" One of the two voice asked, the source of the voice coming closer. A moment later, two lit wands were pointed at his face. "Hey guys!" Harry said with a sheepish smile which clearly showed his embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping.

"Blimey Harry, you almost gave us a heart attack."

"What are you doing here?"

"It's not the route from library."

"I could ask the two of you the same." Harry finally said to the Gryffindor twins, their ping-pong style irritating him. The twins shared a secretive look between them before looking at Harry and started laughing.

"Never ask pranksters…."

"What they are up to…."

"You might not…."

"Like the answer."

"But seriously guys, you are not involved in something illegal?" Harry asked, concern about the practical jokers coming to the fore.

"Don't worry Harry…."

"We know where to…."

"Draw the line." The twin again shared a look as if discussing something silently. The three Gryffindors started walking towards the tower with Harry in the middle and a step behind the twins.

"I think Forge…."

"Yes, Gred…."

"We can tell it to him."

"I think Hogwarts champion might help us." They again shared a look before one of them, who identified himself as Forge started to explain.

"During the quidditch world cup final, we placed the bet of forty galleons with Bagman that Irish would win but Krum will catch the snitch and obviously we won. Bagman was supposed to pay us four hundred galleons and he did but with Leprechaun gold. And since then, he has been avoiding us. It was two years' worth of savings so it's rather important."

Harry was thinking the whole thing as they turned to enter the corridor at the end of which was the entrance to the Fat Lady. He wanted to tell them what he found about Bagman this evening but decided better of it. Instead, he just warned them to be careful and don't get into serious trouble.

"That's very rich…."

"Coming from you, Harry…."

"'Stay out of trouble' he says…."

"doesn't know that we don't like…."

"To get caught…."

"And invite trouble."

The group had reached the portrait and after the password, it swung open to admit them inside. Hermione and Neville were sitting on a table in the corner of the room, studying while Ron was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, surprisingly, busy completing an assignment.

"What are you doing Ron?"

"huh! hey mate, nothing just some stupid assignment from Trelawney." This got Harry's interest so he asked him to tell him more. "Trelawney asked us to maintain a dream journal this year and predict our future based on them. It's so pointless that I can't even poke jelly with it."

Harry was chuckling and it became full blown laughter when Ron told some of his 'documented' dreams and predictions. They were so outrageous that Ron might get a good grade.

"You know mate, since you are not in the class this year, it's either Seamus or Neville who gets the brunt of her life-threatening predictions." Ron told him with a playful smile which transformed into a nostalgic one. "The class is no fun without you."

"You are a right git, Ron." Harry replied playfully, enjoying the banter after a long time. "Let's sit with those two, I need to tell you guys something."

The next hour, Harry told the majority of what happened that evening to the three Gryffindors, he told them about the task, Crouch, Penseive and his discussion afterwards. Harry noted their completely different reactions, Hermione had a contemplative look while Neville looked astonished and Ron was confused. He had not bared it all to them and had kept a few bits and pieces which were too private or unnerving. He neither told them about Trelawney's prediction nor the revelation of Dumbledore's wizarding guardianship of his nor the discussion with the twins. Afterwards, they left to their respective dormitories, calling it a day, to think about the load of information dumped on them in the last hour.

-X-X-

The Daily Prophet was silent about the 'Crouch sighting' and there was nothing of much importance. The day started as any other Sunday, Harry woke up late and went for breakfast and returned to the common room to do nothing much but was continuously pestered by Hermione to revise his coursework for the upcoming exams which were two months away. Hermione had left for library to search for a spell to aid Harry in navigating through the maze. Leaving the boys unsupervised to 'study' through the Sunday morning which very soon turned into a two vs one chess match series where Ron won five consecutive matches against Harry and Neville. The Gryffindor boys went to lunch earlier than usual where they were joined by Hannah and Susan. Susan sat next to Harry and Hannah sat next to Neville and across from Susan.

Harry gave a very heavily edited version of last night's events to Susan who also lost in thought afterwards. Harry's lunch was almost over when Hermione joined them on the Gryffindor table, sitting on the other side of Harry. Hermione noticed a green beetle on Susan's robes but before she could tell her, Harry slumped in his seat while holding his forehead, clearly in pain. Every eye turned towards the group and the great hall when silent, McGonagall rushed down from the teachers' table followed by Pomphrey and stood beside him, waiting for Harry to recover before checking him for the problem.

-X-X-

Harry was back in the gloomy room he had been visiting in his nightmares for the last ten months. He was standing behind the chair, while the form of Wormtail was lying on the ground, curled up and shivering. A white hand was pointing an ivory coloured wand towards him and a maniacal and raspy voice was chuckling.

"Please My lord, forgive me…." Wormtail cried, pleading for his life.

"It's a good thing that your mistake with Crouch was corrected Wormtail." Voldemort said in a hissing and venomous tone.

"Forgive me My Lord, show mercy." Wormtail pleaded for his life.

"I am not going to kill you, not yet, you have your uses." He laughed and the laughter was followed by, " _Crucio_ " and the pain filled cries of Wormtail.

-X-X-

When Harry opened his eyes, and took notice of his surroundings, he found that his head was in Susan's lap and his hand was clutching his forehead where the bolt like mark was burning like fire. He also noticed that Hermione was kneeling on his side, her hand moving through his hairs and she was cooing comforting words in his ear. He was suddenly aware that he was in the great hall and it was completely silent, except for murmurs of confusion and interest.

McGonagall stepped forward and looked into Harry's eyes, Harry could see that she was genuinely concerned about him. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?"

In response, Harry nodded his head but flinched when the moment caused instant headache. Pomphrey stepped closer and diagnosed him for a moment and asked Hermione to escort Harry to the infirmary.

The group of six rose from the table and followed the two ladies to the infirmary. As they were leaving the great hall, murmurs and whispers grew louder with time and within a minute, Hogwarts rumour mill was running rampant with their absurd speculation, none of which were even remotely close. The group reached the infirmary where Harry was then given a dose of pain-relieving potion and was asked to spend the afternoon resting in the infirmary. Harry was about to object when he saw the glare directed towards him form the Gryffindor bookworm and his objection died even before coming into existence.

-X-X-

Harry woke up late the next morning due to the headache and the pain-relieving potion and he hurriedly got ready to go down to the great hall for breakfast. In the last six months, Harry had become accustomed to stares and glares but today when he entered the great hall, this assumption of his was going to be proven wrong. The moment he stepped inside the great hall's threshold, it went silent, every eye was fixed on him. Apart from a handful people, everyone was directing hostile gazes towards him and then there was Draco who had a smug smile on his face. Oh god, how much Harry wanted to wipe that smirk off his face that instance, no one could imagine. He sat next to Hermione who had a sombre expression on her face but her eyes held a fierce look of determination mixed with rage. Ron was sitting across from them with Neville on his left, Ron was busy shovelling food in his mouth but his face was red, most probably with anger. Neville was just sitting there with a hurt expression on his face, he was avoiding looking him in the eye.

The silence was too much for Harry so he asked the group in general about what was happening and in response, Hermione handed her today's Daily Prophet. The moment he saw Barty Crouch's face on the front page, Harry's face started to pale.

 ** _Crouch Spotted_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _The Director of Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch, who has been absent from the public eye for more than four months was spotted this Saturday in Hogwarts grounds. The sighting did not result in anything substantial but it pushed the ministry to look into the matter more carefully._

 _The details about the event are yet incomplete and the available ones are dodgy at best. The two people who actually came across the lost director were none other than Hogwarts champion, Harry Potter and French champion, Fleur Delacour. The event unfolded around an hour after the dinner time while the two champions were wandering the castle grounds near the forbidden forest._

 _In Mr. Potter's words, "He stumbled upon us and fell face-first. He was muttering something incoherent. I asked Fleur to keep an eye on him while I bring Dumbledore, on my way I found professor Moody and told him about it and went to fetch Dumbledore. When we returned, Fleur was lying unconscious on the ground while professor Moody was searching the woods, there was no sign of Barty Crouch."_

 _After the incident, Chief Warlock and the Minister of Magic had a long meeting after which an investigation was authorized in the case of Mr. Crouch's disappearance. Yesterday, aurors have searched Mr. Crouch's residence for any clues but the search had not produced any results. The house was locked from inside, all doors and windows were bolted and charm-locked. The house looked unused for months with a thick layer of dirt present, but there were some evidences which indicated that the house was in use. Fireplace was used a sometimes-last week, the bed was slept in around the same time, kitchen had a few food items, mostly under stasis charm. The most shocking thing was the dried blood stains on the carpet._

 _The Auror Corps are busy searching for Mr. Crouch, a search party had done an aerial survey of the forbidden forest in the early hours of Sunday. It is believed that Chief Warlock had blocked all the attempts of approaching Harry Potter or Fleur Delacour for a statement. It is believed that a memory had been provided by Mr. Potter, but it's authenticity is yet to be confirmed. The reporter believes that the memory might be incomplete if Mr. Potter had left the French part-Veela unconscious on the ground before informing the Headmaster._

Before Harry's anger could erupt and he could say something, Hermione asked him to turned to society page. Harry did as was asked by his girlfriend only to get his anger exponentially rise. There was the article about him, his 'problem' as was quoted, how he was dangerous; it was uncensored libel, assassination of his character in front of the whole British wizarding world, although he didn't care about his image much but it was painful to see your name being shown in such bad light. It brought too many memories from his 'no so happy' past. He rose from his seat and walked out of the great hall, followed a moment by his friends including Susan and Ron who had left his breakfast behind to support his friend. Harry only stopped when he reached an empty classroom and sat on a chair, his friends followed in afterwards and Hermione put a silencing charm on the door after locking it.

Harry slapped the newspaper on the desk in anger and the only words that came out were, "how did this happen?".

 ** _The-Boy-Who-is-Disturbed-and-Dangerous_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _The Boy Who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behaviour, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School. Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Sunday last, midway through a lunch, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter fainting in the great hall, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying. It is possible, say top experts at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion. "He might even be pretending," said one specialists. "This could be a plea for attention." The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public. "Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year._

 _"There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a duelling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power." Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defence League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence." Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the prestigious Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place on June 24_ _th_ _._

-X-X-

April 30, 1995

"Hey Padfoot, Moony." Harry said while hugging his godfather in the Shrieking Shack. It had been two weeks since the article was published in the Prophet.

"How are you doing, pup?" Moony asked, his eyes filled with genuine concern.

"As best I can Moony." Harry answered truthfully, it didn't make sense to hide things from these two honorary uncles of his.

"Tell us what happened Harry, I want to know the complete story." Sirius asked, all the joviality he was famous for was absent from his tone and demeanour. For the next twenty minutes Harry was busy telling the two Marauders about the evening and everything that transpired in full detail. By the end of his story, both the elders had a look of deep thought and contemplation which was mixed with their concern for the teenager. Hermione wasn't there with him today because Harry wanted to talk to them in private after the revelation of his guardianship and she understood it perfectly so he had no emotional support at the moment when Sirius and Remus went through the information Harry had dumped on them. The silence was getting uncomfortable for Harry but saved him by breaking the silence with a question.

"Harry, are you happy with the guardianship situation or should I ask Dumbledore to see if he can hand it over to me?" Remus asked with a fatherly smile on his face. Harry was touched to the core with the gesture and he could feel the warmth in his heart but he knew that it would be difficult for the guardianship to become legal due to Remus's Lycanthropy.

"You can Moony but I don't have high hopes for it." Harry flinched when he saw the hurt look on Remus's face. "Don't take it otherwise Moony, I would love to stay with you and I know I would enjoy it. When I spoke to Hermione if you could adopt me, she told that it might get into legal trouble with the ministry. I am sorry Moony." Harry gave him an apologetic smile.

"I understand Harry, I was just hoping that it might cheer you up." Moony answered with an understanding look on his face but his eyes betrayed his internal emotional conflict. He was feeling guilty for not being able to help Harry again and the reason remained the same, his Lycanthropy.

"Urgh…. Too much serious talk. Hey pup, how is Hermione?" Sirius asked his godson who turned pink in response to the question.

"She is good. She has been a great help throughout this tournament." Harry had a sheepish smile on his face, he was avoiding meeting Sirius's gaze.

"Moony, I think it's time for the talk, don't you agree?" Sirius asked, his eyes had a mischievous gleam which promised that whatever was coming won't be fun.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Remus replied and the next hour was spent by the Marauders giving 'the Talk' to Harry who was getting redder by the second. At the end of it he was unable to form any meaningful coherent sentences so the Marauders bid him goodbye and apparated away from the Shrieking Shack, leaving a thoroughly embarrassed Harry to his musings.

-X-X-

When Harry returned to the common room, he found Hermione sitting in front of fire with Mercury on the armrest of the couch and a book open in her hand. She was gently stroking Mercury's plumage and the owl looked at peace. Harry decided that he should go to his dorm as it would be very uncomfortable for a few hours may be days to be close with Hermione. But before he could reach to the stairs leading to the dorm, Hermione noticed him.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hermione asked, a frown coming to her face for being ignored by him.

"Err…. I was…. I just…." Harry was unable to answer without stammering. He turned beet red when he looked at her face and Sirius's words came back to his mind.

"Come here, would you?" Hermione asked what patting the seat next to her on the couch. Harry was unable to form a coherent answer so he just nodded and sat on the couch. He was actively avoiding her gaze and she caught him doing so which confused her immensely.

"Harry, what happened?" She asked with a concerned voice, her book shut closed and lying beside her. She scooted close to him and he practically jumped away from her which annoyed her even more.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked him a bit angrily, thinking that he was trying to avoid her which got her thinking. Her overly active brain led her to the thought that Harry might be thinking of breaking up with her as he had befriended the French champion since the second task, her insecurities exaggerated the scale of her thoughts.

"Nothing." Harry answered with as much confidence as he could muster. The attempt did not satisfy Hermione who looked a bit irritated.

"I know you Harry, at least don't lie to me." Hermione asked more sternly, her patience was being tested here. Harry decided that it would be better if he just told her so that she wouldn't push him. He sat down on the couch and squared his shoulders in an attempt to gather his courage and took a deep breath. "They gave me 'the Talk'."

"Oh." That was the only response Hermione could give before turning crimson herself, mirroring Harry's blush.

They were spared anymore awkwardness when Ron entered through the portrait hole followed by Neville and a few steps behind were Seamus and Dean. Neville looked angry while Ron looked embarrassed and flustered at the same time, he had a chess set in his hand. Ron dropped the chess set on the coffee table in the center and flopped down in the armchair on the side of the couch with his head in his hands. Neville took the seat opposite to him and sat straighter, his eyes boring into Ron, the other two Gryffindors stood behind the couch Harry and Hermione were sitting in.

"What happened?" Hermione asked Neville who just huffed and turned towards the fireplace. "What's going on?" the two boys were saved from answering the question as Dean answered it for them.

"Ron asked Susan out but in a very uncultured way. Nice work Ron!" He left the group to their 'conversation' and left with Seamus to sit by the window. Ron still held his head in his hands and said nothing, he just shook his head.

"Neville, please tell us what happened?" Harry asked the fellow Gryffindor who then turned towards them.

"We, I mean Seamus, Dean and we two, were sitting in the garden near the entrance hall and playing chess when Hannah and Susan crossed us. I went to talk to Hannah, Susan was wearing some kind of robe which was tight around her upper body. When I complemented that she looked good, this git here commented that 'rather than bones, he was more interested in flesh' while eyeing her. Hannah was going to smack him on head and I had to stop her." Hermione was livid and Harry was quite angry himself but before they could say anything Neville spoke again.

"Susan told him to behave but he thought that she liked the 'complement' and asked her if he can appreciate her in some private setting. Susan just left and so did Hannah. I just hope this doesn't affect me and Hannah."

"I was just asking her for a date." Ron said in a whinny tone which did not go well with his two friends. "Guys, I didn't mean anything otherwise. It was just a harmless joke."

"You need to grow up Ronald Weasley. Go and apologize to her, till then don't talk to me." Hermione rose from her seat and walked out of the common room, most probably to the library, with the book clutched in front of her.

"You are a genius at ruining the mood Ron. I think you should go and apologize now." Harry said coldly, clearly not liking his friend's behaviour towards his Hufflepuff friend. Harry picked Mercury and left the common room to go to the Owlery to meet Hedwig, leaving an angry and worried Neville in Ron's company.

-X-X-

June 23, 1995

Today was the final exam for the Hogwarts students and the atmosphere inside the castle was cheery and light after two difficult weeks filled with exams, one after the other. The last two months had gone past in a flurry and without anymore 'eventful' days.

For the prize of biggest drama of the period, two events were tied in the top spot. The first was the angry rant from Cho Chang about Zoe Walker stealing her boyfriend which took place in the great hall in mid-May, Cho had drawn her wand and so had Zoe but before the situation escalate any further, professor Flitwick intervened. This costed her 25 points and a detention if she did not apologize to the American champion, needless to say she took the detention and further angered the diminutive head of Ravenclaw house. The second event was Ron apologizing to Susan who had demanded a public apology which would teach Ron a lesson, everyone agreed on that and Ron was planning to apologize on the first Sunday of June. The event turned funny, except for Ron, when he lost his balance while going for the apology and fell face first in front of a full house in the middle of great hall. After the apology, Harry overheard twins telling someone that it was Angelina who had used a silent tripping jinx which was missed by almost everyone.

The period between Ron hurting Susan and his apology, he was getting a cold shoulder from the female population of the college and Harry and Neville weren't on very friendly terms with him either. When he showed some intent towards apologizing to her, Harry, Neville and Hermione to some extent started to get back to friendly terms with him.

Harry's day had got into a routine, the would go for a run and exercise in the morning with Hermione for company with Neville being present occasionally. After the classes, he would go back to the gym for practicing his spell-casting and defending practice (shielding, dodging) where Hermione would help Harry by casting stunners towards him. They had upped their training to learn and defend against possible threats present in the maze, including magical creatures and traps.

The remaining of their evenings and nights were spent studying for the exams or completing the assignments or learning about various things for the task. Neville was a regular in their study-group and Susan and Hannah had also joined them fairly regularly in the library. Ron would join them in the common room for studies when he wanted some help from Hermione.

When Hermione and/or Harry was not on good terms with him during the year, his performance had slumped and he was given a couple of detentions to teach him a lesson. At other times, he would somehow convince Hermione to help him or ask Neville for his assignments to copy. This had proved one thing, a bitter pill for Ron and his friends, that he was insincere about his studies and hardworking was not an attribute present in him.

Hermione had created a spell or rather modified a spell which would point towards North or whatever the caster wanted to point towards, unless the object in question was under a charm which would render the object unplottable. Hermione had explained to Harry that the charm was actually very simple, the incantation was ' _Designandum_ ' and the spell was cast while keeping your wand in your open palm. During the spell incantation, he must concentrate where he wanted it to point and the wand in his palm will rotate to point towards it. According to Hermione, the actual spell was to point towards north, ' _Designandum Praemisit_ ' which is quite a popular spell with travelers and sailors.

It was the night before the task and Harry was lying in his bed, trying to get some sleep before the final task of the tournament. Since the second task, his friends had started to believe that he could win it and they didn't shy away from pointing this out to him. With time, he had started to think positively about it which was a new thing to him. But this possibility also brought nervousness with it. Harry had never been this nervous before in his life, may be before his first quidditch match but never again. He was unable to sleep and his mind was going through his 'strategy' for the task which Hermione had helped him to go develop.

He was hoping that tomorrow would end on a positive note for him. But fate is a cruel thing.

A/N: Please review and tell how did you like the chapter, mistakes and corrections. The next chapter would be the final task and to get to that quickly, I had to move things a bit fast in this chapter. I hope you liked it.


	15. B1: Chapter 15 - Final Task

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: One of the guest reviewers pointed that Ron has never acted rudely with any girl ever. I think they did not read the books carefully.

 ** _Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown - "Oh Professor, look! I think I've got an unexpected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"_**

 ** _"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart._**

 ** _"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" said Ron._**

 ** _Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that_**

 ** _made her give them so much homework at the end of the class._**

This is taken verbatim from Goblet of Fire, chapter thirteen 'Mad-Eye Moody'. Second point was that his grades never fell, that's because Harry allowed him to use his assignments for help when Hermione didn't. I always had this problem with the writing of JKR that she has been inconsistent at various points throughout the series. Hermione is shown as a level-headed person with strong beliefs who stands against everything she feels wrong but she always allows Ron to remain a prejudiced borderline bully. I want to make it crystal clear that I am not bashing Ron or any other character but I will be trying to portray the characters as actual teenagers with raging hormones and stupid attitudes. Ron's intrinsic qualities would be shown where they are necessary and he would remain by Harry's side for the majority part but that does not mean that his nature is changed to a goody-good guy.

The chapter would be the first half of the final task. POVs will change frequently in the second half of the chapter and I hope that it is half as entertaining to you readers as it was for me while writing.

Sorry for the long note. Please Review and enjoy.

 **Chapter Fifteen: Final Task**

It was the morning of the task and Harry was under rested, his anxiety making it impossible to have a good night's sleep before the final task. The other thing bothering Harry was the tingling feeling in his scar; in the past, he had experienced pain of various extents but this sensation was new. Harry didn't dwell on it for long.

The anticipation to the final task had the whole school in an upbeat mood, exams were over yesterday and students were busy in discussing the upcoming event. The twins were busy in organising their betting pool and many of the senior year students had placed their bets already.

Harry had come down for breakfast a little earlier than usual in a bid to avoid any hostile glares and stares. But as usual, Hermione and surprisingly Ron had accompanied him this early to the great hall. Neville had decided to have a lie-in and wasn't expected at the breakfast table at all so the trio took their usual seats, Ron sat across from Harry while Hermione sat on Harry's right.

"You know mate, last night Fred told me something that can improve your mood." Ron said excitedly in an attempt to cheer Harry up.

"Hmm." Harry answered without any discernible expression.

"Many people have placed bets on your victory. Only Cedric is ahead of you." Ron's excitement was visible to the other two members of the trio. "And a few Beauxbatons students have also bet for you. You have enough support for the task." He gave Harry a cheeky smile, Harry just snorted in response.

"It seems you have also placed a bet on me, Ron." Harry asked in an amused tone but his expressions were that of questioning.

"Nah, my bet is on the French girl." Ron answered with a straight face.

"Really Ronald, how can you betray me like that?" Harry responded with a mock hurt expression on his face. The trio broke into laughter and it took a minute for them to gather their composure. Harry, and Hermione as well, were happy that Ron was trying to lighten up the mood and help with Harry's nerves. Harry was thankful that everything between the three of them was on its way back to normal after a rocky year. They were about to leave after the breakfast when McGonagall approached them.

"Mr. Potter, you are expected in the anteroom at ten, your family will be here to meet you before the task." McGonagall walked away from the trio, leaving a gobsmacked Harry with his two closest friends.

"Why would they be here? They hate magic. Dumbledore might be the greatest ever but not enough to bring them here." Harry responded in a disbelieving manner, he was shocked and confused more than ever. How could the magic-hating relatives of his even agree to talk to some wizard, coming to Hogwarts was beyond his imagination.

The trio spent the next hour and half walking around the castle ground, they walked to the lake then to the stone bridge connecting the western part of the castle where Slytherin common room was to the northern part where Ravelclaw tower was, the view of the lake was beautiful from here and it was a hotspot for couples in the evening who wish to spent the time watching the sun set over the horizon. They walked up to the edge of the forbidden forest to watch the Abraxans in their paddock. They returned to the great hall ten minutes prior to the meeting time. All this time, Harry was trying to work his way through how he would act with his relatives and his two friends would be of no help in that.

"Good luck with your 'family', mate." Ron wished Harry with a clap on his shoulder and walked out of the great hall.

"Everything will be alright, Harry." Hermione told him with a tight hug and departed from the great hall with a smile.

Harry started to walk towards the door at the back of the great hall which led to the anteroom. Harry had come to know that the circular room below was the staff room, information courtesy: Hagrid. The doors led towards kitchens, eastern wing of the castle, where Gryffindor tower was, and to the northern wing. Last time when Harry was in the room, he was so busy in his own thoughts and the discussion all around him that he didn't notice his surroundings.

The corridor leading towards the stairs at the back was lined with painting, portraits to be precise, with plaques below them. They were the paintings of famous alumni of Hogwarts, most of them were centuries old, one such painting was of Nicholas Flamel. He was a bald man with small beard and twinkling eyes, and unlike other pictures, this one was static. Towards the end of the corridor was the painting of Dumbledore in his purple robes and half-moon spectacles, similar to the Flamel painting this was also static.

Harry stepped down the circular stairs with the expectation of seeing His whale of an uncle and horse-faced aunt with his bully of a cousin. He was elated when he saw three people standing there whom he had least expected to see there. Before he could utter a single word, he was engulfed in a 'Molly Weasley's patented' crushing hug. Once he was free from the hug, he was greeted with a handshake by a tall, lean redhead boy who was no older than twenty-five. He had an ear-piercing in his right one, his hair was in a ponytail which gave him a roguish look.

"Hello, Bill Weasley. It's nice to finally meet you." Harry shook the offered hand and said his greetings before turning towards the third man standing a step behind the two Weasleys. He flung himself on the man and gave him a tight hug, the hug was returned by the man with greying light brown hair.

"It's good to see you Moony!" Harry said in an excited and relieved tone. The moment Harry stepped back from the hug, a big brown dog pounced on him and pinned him to the floor. Harry was laughing as the dog licked his face and nuzzled his nose around Harry's neck.

"Harry, meet snuffles." Harry was a bit surprised that Sirius turned from a black dog to a brown one and changed his name to 'snuffles'. Harry was still sitting on the floor patting the dog when Remus kneeled next to him and whispered in his ear, answering the unasked question. "I turned his fur brown, and trim it a bit. Would make it difficult for knowing eyes."

The group of four sat in the chairs while snuffles sat near Harry with its head in Harry's lap. Other champions and their families were also present in the room and Harry noticed the glances exchanged between the French champion and Bill. Bill and Mrs. Weasley also greeted Cedric and his parents and Harry thought that it would be a good idea to introduce Bill to Fleur.

Before Harry could implement his thought, Fleur called him over and introduced him to her family. Her sister, Gabrielle, gave him a hug and didn't leave his side during the short conversation. Fleur's father, Sebastian Delacour was a tall man with a prominently protruding abdomen. He was a bureaucrat in French ministry. Fleur's mother was exactly like Fleur but a couple of inches taller and twenty years older. If he didn't know that she was Fleur's mother, he would have guessed her to be an older sister to Fleur. Veela magic was making a mockery of aging.

Harry got the opportunity to introduce Fleur to Bill just before the lunch was served for the champions and their families. Harry missed the frown on Mrs. Weasley's face when he did the introductions and the two were shaking hands longer then needed. After lunch, Harry, Weasleys and Moony went for a walk around the lake with Snuffles leading the way. They were joined by Ron and Hermione; Neville, Susan and Hannah greeted the ex-DADA professor but didn't stay. A few anecdotes and school life stories were shared and so were a few laughs. Before they knew it, it was 4:30 and they returned to the great hall for dinner.

The final task was scheduled for six o'clock but the audience were to take seats by half past five. Harry bid them farewell and went to the dormitory to change into the jersey for the event. It was a marron shirt over a black slack with a maroon robe with 'Potter' written at the back. Harry wore his dragonhide protective west under the jersey and started the long walk to the quidditch pitch.

When Harry reached the quidditch stadium, he was directed towards the locker room by McGonagall where the other champions were. Every champion was standing or sitting in the locker room with serious expressions on their faces. Harry looked towards Fleur and smiled when she looked towards him. Harry then turned towards Cedric and Zoe who were standing close to each other and nodded in a way of greeting. The other two champions weren't given a second's thought. A minute or so later, Ludo Bagman joined the champions in the locker room and even before the pleasantries can be exchanged, Dumbledore's voice could be heard from the inside of the pitch.

"Good evening everyone. For every witch and wizard present here tonight, it's a memorable evening of your life. After a centuries gap, the tournament was restarted due to the continuous work on the part of the British ministry which was supported at every step by our foreign counterparts."

There was a small pause filled with low applause, Dumbledore continued in his commanding voice. "The task is different than the last two. There will be no dragons and merpeople involved. It's just a maze and in its centre is the trophy we call 'Eternal Glory'. Whoever touches the trophy first will be the champion of this tournament." This was followed by a thunderous applause mixed with cheers and joyous shouts. "The champions will enter the maze in the order of their ranking. Every champion will get a head start of five minutes over the champion placed below them in the table."

Dumbledore then walked into the locker room, "Good evening champions!". The greetings were reciprocated but in a subdued manner. "Gather around."

Dumbledore went silent while the champions moved closer to him, forming a circle. Dumbledore had a very serious expression on his face which commanded all the attention from the listener. Dumbledore's next words were spoken in a quiet but firm manner. "The maze is to test not only your magical abilities but the strength of your mind and character. You won't find a dragon in there but you need to remain focussed if you want to come back unscathed. Any moment you decide to withdraw, fire red sparks and you will be removed from the maze. Good luck!"

With those words, Dumbledore left with Bagman on his heels. The champions just sat there, thinking about their strategies, spells and trying to calm their nerves. The Japanese champion was sitting cross-legged on the floor, deep in meditation. A few seconds later, Cedric's name was called and he left the other five champions and walked towards the maze. Harry had a long ten minutes of waiting before he could enter the maze. Five minutes later, Zoe left the locker room to follow Cedric into the maze.

" 'Ey 'Arry." Fleur said with a small smile. Harry responded with a nervous smile of his own. "You look very nervouzz."

"Yeah, are you not?" He asked in response.

Before the conversation could move ahead, Harry's name was called and he stepped out of the locker room. He could hear the applause and cheers, they weren't thunderous but they were enough to give him a positive feeling. As he stepped out, he was astonished by the sight of it. The inside of the pitch looked larger, a few times larger than it should have been normally. 'Must have been some charm like the tent', he mused. The pitch was full with well-maintained hedges that were twenty feet high.

As he stepped on the grass pitch, he turned to see the stands where the students were sitting. His eyes were searching for a particular individual and they found her a couple of seconds later. A smile was exchanged between the two and Hermione wished him good luck with 'thumbs-up' sign. He turned back and came face to face with Dumbledore, who was standing in front of the entrance to the maze and wished Harry good luck before stepping aside to let him enter the maze. The moment Harry stepped through the maze, the entrance closed behind him.

All went dark.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Cedric had promised her that he would wait and he did, Zoe Walker was a one happy witch. They had decided that they would go through the maze together and win it together. 'What a way to announce that you are a couple', she chuckled at the thought. Cedric was waiting for her at the first intersection and they started their walk to victory. She had high hopes for her future and she had betted everything on this relationship working. Cedric had stumble upon her during an emotionally exhausting day and struck a conversation with her. She had received a letter from her father that morning that she was now not allowed to meet his brother as she was the reason his life was in danger. They had spoken for a few minutes and the conversation had led towards her family and then towards her emotional state. From then onwards, Cedric had listened to her rant for half an hour, he was quite understanding and he tried to cheer her up.

The next she knew, she had broken down in front of him and he was consoling her. One thing led to another and by the dinner time, she was kissing Cedric. Things were pretty bad for the first two weeks where Cedric had a breakup due to his girlfriend's jealousy towards Zoe and her suspicions that Cedric was unfaithful. To be clear, Cedric was nothing but gentlemanly, he had pushed Zoe when she came onto him and told her that he could be just a friend to her as he was already committed. Chang's jealousy had pushed Cedric towards her and the three months that followed it saw them get serious about each other.

Cedric had always dreamed to join wizarding law enforcement and become an auror. He was hardworking and level-headed and that was the reason he was sorted into Hufflepuff. He had put a lot of efforts to improve himself as a wizard and as a person throughout his time at Hogwarts and he had been successful in that. He was the quidditch captain of the Hufflepuff team, he was among the top five students in his year and he was on his way to become the champion of this elusive tournament, he ticked all the boxes to become an auror.

During their career counselling with the head of house, he had discussed this with Madam Sprout and she was excited about his prospects. His father was a part of DMLE and he had already registered Cedric in Auror Academy for enrolment, now he had to score good in his N.E.W.T.s to become eligible for the training. The first part of that task was done and he had sat his N.E.W.T.s in the past two weeks, the only thing between him and the Auror Academy was his results.

That was not the only big plan of his near future. If they win today, he would propose Zoe to move in with him as he would be moving out of his family home this summer. They had confessed their love for each other and they had decided to give it a go. Zoe was moving to London and she would be applying for a place in Auror Academy. She didn't have much family, except her mother, back in the states so she it was easy for her to let things go and move to a new country. Cedric was open to moving to states if they became more serious and Zoe was unable to settle in England.

The duo had a slow start, they had hit a couple of dead ends and they had the feeling that they were going in loops as they haven't come across anything for the last fifteen minutes or so. This thought was suddenly pushed to the back of their mind when they came across a Manticore. The moment their eyes landed on the powerful and extremely dangerous creature, their eyes went wide in shock which was quickly followed by fear. Zoe was standing a step ahead of Cedric, she started firing all the curses she knew, Cedric was shielding her from his place behind her. They wanted to incapacitate the beast so they could move on, they were aware that most of the known spells were useless against Manticores and they were trying their best to find an opening. The aisle between the hedges wasn't wide enough that they could round him up from opposite sides. They were firing at him for more than five minutes nothing was happening to the beast. It seemed like the beast was unable to move forward beyond a point as if a barrier was in place. The duo didn't want to backdown and change course so they took the confrontational option.

"Any plans?" Zoe asked Cedric in an exasperated tone, the spells were tiring her.

"You take the defence, I will do the casting." Cedric answered. He took a couple of steps forward so that Zoe stood behind him. As he stepped ahead, the creature transformed.

The scene in front of him was unexpected, a moment before where the manticore stood were to figures, one was kneeling and the other was standing with folded hands while shaking his head from side to side. The kneeling figure was Cedric and the standing figure was Zoe. The-fake-Cedric looked feeble and heartbroken while the-fake-Zoe looked happy and devilish.

"It's a boggart. ' _Riddikulus_ '!" The figures in front of them turned into black some and dissolved into the hedges. The couple walked forward, hand in hand and a lot of questions in mind.

"Why is your boggart a Manticore?" Cedric asked a minute later, unable to suppress the urge to ask it.

"Granpa was a Magizoologist. He was studying a Manticore they were trying to tame. The creature killed him and his five-member crew. It happened when I was twelve, since then it is my worst fear." She answered, her voice trembling towards the end. Cedric threw his left arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"What about you, Ced?" Zoe asked him in a concerned voice, using his nickname to have more impact.

"I was…." He stopped and turned towards her to look in her eyes. "I was going to ask you to move in with me." In response to this proclamation, she just flung herself in his arms.

"I would never say no to that." She answered with a chuckle, quickly followed by a searing kiss. They shared a light and happy moment in the middle of the final task. An uneventful fifteen minutes and a few turns later the duo reached a crossroads and they stopped abruptly. But before they could decide which one to choose, a blue spell came flying towards them.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Fleur was the last champion to enter the maze and she had little hope of winning it. She knew that the second task would screw up her chances greatly and so she wasn't too worried about winning, she just wanted to perform to the best of her abilities. She had sat for her N.E.W.T.s and she was certain that she would have a lot of career options open for her. She could become a healer as she was good with potions and charms, she could become a curse-breaker because she was good with ancient runes, arithmancy and charms; the only option unavailable for her was to become an auror. She was not a top student in DADA and she did not want to have that busy a life anyway, so auror was out of question.

She might apply for a curse-breaker position with Gringotts, may be here in England. The Weasley guy she met today was charming and if she was honest with herself, she would agree that Bill was a factor to be taken in consideration. He was unaffected by her Veela allure, he was a curse-breaker and he had moved to England this year. Maybe she could do something about it.

She had walked for less than five minutes when she was broken out of her reverie when she heard a twig breaking behind her. She stopped suddenly, fear creeping in the crevices of her courage. She turned on her heel, wand at ready but before she could do anything, a fearful shriek came out of her and everything went black.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

'I hate British laws', Kenechi was musing to himself. 'How was a supposed to know that you have to register a charmed artefact. We don't do that back home, charmed object is one of our specialities', he was placed fourth due a stupid regulatory point. And now the Hogwarts champion had a fifteen-minute head start. He started sprinting ahead, took a few random turns and reached a passage which was filled with dark coloured roots, vines and branches. He was feeling suspicious of them so he ran ahead and that's where everything went wrong.

The vines and Roots became alive, they were moving, lashing, swinging on their own accord. His leg got stuck in a root and he fell face first to the floor, his wand was thrown a few feet away and before he could do anything to retrieve it, the root tightened around his ankle. He did the only thing that came to his mind, he started to kick it with his other leg but to no avail. In the next ten seconds, his arms and legs were tied with the branches and they were rapidly coiling around him.

He had realized that it was devil's snare and he knew how to get rid of it but without his wand it was useless. He had given up to his fate, the plant had started to strangle him and now he was trying to keep his calm. He stopped his fidgeting and held his breath for a minute. The knots around him started to loosen up, he moved his eyes in search of his wand, trying his best to not move any other muscle. He found his wand but it was futile as it had snapped under the plant. So for all intents and purposes, he was out of the competition. If he came across anything else, the best he can do was run and avoid it. He waited for a minute after he was released so that the plant can revert to a position as far as possible.

When he thought that it would be safe to make a dash for it, he did just that. The next thing he remember, he was hit in the face by a spell and everything went dark.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

' _Lumos_ ', Harry started walking, he took the first left then a right and kept walking for a minute. At the next turn, Harry realized that it was the wrong thing to do. In front of him stood a fully-grown Blast-ended Skrewt, the hideous hybrid of a Manticore and a firecrab. Hagrid had taught about them in his class this year and most of the students had burns over their arms. That was a busy day in the infirmary. Hermione had asked out of curiosity, hot to control them or subdue them.

Hagrid was happy that Hermione was interested in the creature and gave her an elaborate answer. The crux of it was that the joints in their scorpion-like stinger tail were a vulnerable spot and the same for their legs. The place where their top and bottom shells connected was also easy to attack and so wo the unarmoured underside of its belly, every other place was impervious to spell damage. One other way was tying them up with wrought iron chains as it was a metal which could not be dissolved with their venom or sparks.

Harry knew that conjuration was beyond his capabilities so he had to attack the right spots. He quickly assumed a stance similar to the fencing stance named 'Quarte'. He waited a second to aim before firing a blasting curse at his stinger which was followed by a series of piercing and cutting curses. He had to avoid his attacking stinger on a couple of occasion. The creature propelled itself towards Harry and it took all his experience of quidditch that he dived ahead so that the creature went over him to the other side.

He didn't get a chance to relax or run ahead as the stingers started to attack him again. He was trying to get a shot at the soft spots but till now he was unable to do so. He had an opportunity presented to him when the creature propelled towards him but he dived face-first and in doing so, he missed the golden opportunity. Couple of minutes later, one of his piercing curse found its mark and the rear side stinger was out of play.

But there was not respite in sight just yet. Hermione had always complained, since the first flying lesson in first year, that Harry was reckless. Right now, the plan Harry's brain was cooking was exactly that, reckless. It was dangerous and full of uncertainty but Harry could not think about anything else that could trump this plan.

Harry started running towards the beast, he was maintaining a steady stream of ' _Reducto_ ' (blasting curse) to keep it off-balance. Once he was close enough to the beast, he dived headfirst and twisted in the air so that he was facing the sky. His dive positioned him just under the horrible beast who was caught off-guard. Before the creature could react, Harry fired blasting and piercing curse one after the other.

At the end of the ordeal, he was pinned to the ground by the corpse of the beast, completely covered with blood and gore. It was good that he had learnt to conjure a jet of water which he used to wash his face to get clean from all the sticky blood and bits.

He started his to walk but he suddenly heard a shriek, he turned and sprinted in the direction. He wasn't certain where the source was but he ran in the general direction. And before long he had stumbled upon the source.

Fleur was unconscious and bound to the ground with roots and vines. Without giving a second thought, he fired red sparks in the sky and moved ahead.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

If someone just said that Hermione was worried, it would be the understatement of the year. She had been sitting here for about an hour and Harry had entered the maze less than twenty minutes ago. That was not the reason she was worried.

She was worried because just a second ago, professor McGonagall had brought an unconscious Fleur Delacour out of the maze. She was pale and had taken a knock, most probably a concussion.

Hermione had to sit on the side-lines when Harry was busy doing stupid manoeuvres on his broom during quidditch, she had sat and watched him battle a Hungarian Horntail, she knew that he had fought a basilisk, he had jumped on a troll, he had sent a hundred dementors away with a patronus; hell, he had faced You-Know-Who at the age eleven. She knew that whatever he was up against in the maze could not be as dangerous as the things above but she had been proven wrong during the first task. It was a good thing that she was sitting between Remus and Ron who were giving her silent support that Harry was alright. She was patting Sirius, who's had was lying in her lap and he was trying to make her laugh by doing silly stuff with its ears, tongue and head.

Needless to say, it wasn't working that well.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was running full speed when suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine. He knew it well enough, it was a dementor. Five seconds later, he was standing in front of the horrible creature. Oh, how he hated these filthy, shrouded creatures of darkness. His mind was conjuring one of the happiest memories in his life.

The incarnation of his happiness, his patronus, Prongs, formed in front of his eyes as he spoke the incantation. He silver-guardian galloped toward the cloaked figure but it remained unaffected.

And then it clicked, it was a dementor. ' _Riddikulus_ ' and the next moment the boggart turned into black smoke and dissolved into the hedges.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

They duo jumped apart and assumed a defensive position behind the hedges on the opposite sides of the path from which the spell was fired. They started firing stunning spells alternatively so to maintain a continuous stream of stunners.

"I will step ahead, cover me with shield." Zoe shouted to Cedric and stepped out of the hedges and started moving towards the attacker. Cedric's clumsily raised shield was decimated with the first spell, the second one hitting Zoe squarely in the chest, throwing her ten feet back, unconscious.

That was it. Cedric jumped out of the hedges and started firing stunners rapidly but before he could hit the attacker, another shout rung in his ear.

 _'Expelliarmus'._

A red spark flew towards the attacker and his wand went flying out of his hand. The next stunner from Cedric got him in the face, throwing him a few feet back. Cedric ran towards him and saw that the attacker was none other than Victor Krum. His anger was rising, he pointed his wand towards Krum's face, a nasty curse on the tip of his tongue. But he was stopped by another voice.

"Don't, he is not himself."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry had continued ahead, he checked for the trophy twice on his way and he was happy that he was making some progress. A couple of turns later, he heard shouts of spellcasting and misfired spells. He quickened his pace and followed the sound. He came closer to an intersection, his wand pointing ahead but he stopped abruptly when he saw who was firing the spells. But he did not stop quickly enough, the person standing close to the turn turned towards him, his wand pointed at Harry's face.

It was Krum, but something was odd about him. He didn't fire a curse at Harry but he looked at him for a few seconds before turning back to firing spell. His eyes where glossed over and clouded, Harry knew that symptom, he had experienced it this year, Krum was under an _Imperius Curse_.

Harry decided that it would be better to disarm him and that's what he did.

' _Expelliarmus_ ', the wand came flying towards him which he caught easily due to his seeker reflexes. The next moment, Krum was thrown away and he saw Cedric running to him, his wand pointed ahead. He also ran towards the fallen champion, he saw that Cedric wanted to curse him but he had to be stopped form during something wrong.

"Don't, he is not himself." Harry got a hold of Cedric's wand arm but it was jerked out of his grip. Without another word, Cedric ran back to his fallen partner to check on her. He kneeled down and moved her unconscious form into his lap and tried to revive her. The spell brought her back to consciousness but it was not a good idea as she had a concussion due to her head hitting the ground during the fall.

"We should get her out." Harry said quietly and at receiving an affirmative nod from Cedric, he fired red sparks in the sky. Harry left the couple in that position and walked away.

After a couple of minutes later, he reached a passage which was filled with fog. Harry couldn't see past the fog but the spell was pointing that the trophy was in that direction. He squared his shoulders and stepped in the smoke and the next moment the world turned on its head, literally.

He could feel the gravity acting the wrong-way, his hair was now skyward. He held the nearest branch with his empty hand to save himself from 'falling'. His courage and will faltered for a moment but he strengthened his resolve and started walking ahead. Once he stepped out of the fog, everything became normal and gravity started to pull him the right-way. Harry walked straight for a few seconds and came across a dead end but the spell was still pointing in that direction. He took the last turn available and redirected himself.

A couple of minutes later, he came face to face with a creature he had never seen before. It was a Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a human, reclining in his way ahead. This Sphinx was a female one, its face as beautiful as any Veela. Harry slowly and cautiously took a step closer to it and the sphinx stood up from its prone position. The creature spoke in a melodious but firm voice which was in itself a warning.

" ** _I will riddle you once, the one who seeks a passage._**

 ** _Prepare yourself but first understand my message._**

 ** _If your answer is correct, you shall pass, oh passer-by,_**

 ** _But if you are wrong, you will surely die_** _._ "

"I accept." Harry answered after thinking it through, very unlike himself.

The sphinx nodded and started reciting the riddle as a poem.

 **"** ** _I tower over the man-made plain, my peaks scrape the heavens._**

 ** _I have many brother; in fact, we may be as many as a hundred and seven._**

 ** _We're as ancient as the oldest trees, but not older than the hills._**

 ** _We've been studied for centuries, but with mysteries we are still filled_** **."**

Riddles was not Harry's speciality, he was sure that Hermione would have answered it in less than ten seconds. He brain was running like a horse in a race but the answer was still a few miles away. He started to go through the riddle line-by-line. The first line was something about tall towers, the second was the number of it, hundred and seven; they are ancient but they are not part of nature, they are mysterious.

He brain was searching for the answer for two minutes now, he could feel the sphinx's gaze on him which was making him nervous by second. 'What can it be? Old, tall, tower mysterious, hundred and seven.'

It was the eureka moment for Harry when a two years old conversation came to his mind. It was during the summer before his third year when he met Ron after he returned from his vacation in Egypt. He had told Harry about the pyramids and how many there were, that was the number, hundred and seven. They matched the description: tall, tower, ancient, mysterious; that was the answer, it had to be. A chuckle escaped him when he thought about it, it was funny in a weird way, a sphinx asking a riddle about pyramids.

"The answer is 'the pyramids of Egypt'." Harry answered confidently, looking in the eye of the creature.

The sphinx gave him a smirk and stepped aside to allow him passage. Harry started walking but his eyes were glued to the exotic Egyptian creature. No more than fifty steps after he crossed the sphinx, he stood facing an acromantula which was as large as eight feet. Harry had some experience with these creatures due to his visit to the acromantula colony in the forbidden forest during his second year.

There was fifteen feet of distance between him and the beast and he wanted to keep it that way. He knew one spell which could repel them, thanks to a teenaged Tom Marvolo Riddle, the only thing Harry will ever thank him for. But in this situation, that spell would be useless as the trophy was thirty-forty feet behind the beast. He wanted to get rid of it but he didn't want to kill; he didn't want to kill any creature, even a gigantic spider with a taste for human flesh.

The only thing Harry could think of was to levitate the spider and reach the trophy and do the same for returning. The plan needed a perfect execution for it to be a success. He could see the pincers clicking and anyone would honestly agree that they weren't a morale booster.

He pointed his wand at the beast before using the spell, ' _Wingardium Leviosa_ ' and the creature went ten feet in the air. Harry was almost below the creature when the spell gave up and the beast fell on Harry, pinning his wand to the ground with its weight. Before Harry could react, a pain shot through his legs, the pain was so intense that it could give tough competition to the basilisk bite.

Harry knew that one of the pincers was through his leg, most probably the bone had a fracture, the bite started to have a burning sensation as the pincer was withdrawn from the bite. Harry reacted as fast as he could and waved his wand, ' _Arania Exumai_ ' and the spider was thrown up in the air. Harry scrapped away from his previous position before the beast could fall but he couldn't move far, his damaged leg made it next to impossible. The beast turned towards Harry who was trying to move away from it. It was getting closer and Harry had the feeling that the next bite would be his last. Before that thought became a reality, a blasting curse blew a part of the creature's side.

The acromantula tumbled forward but didn't rise again. There was a lot of blood where the beast was fallen, all its legs on one side were blasted. Behind the beast stood Cedric with his wand pointing forward. He crossed the creature and stood where Harry was sitting on the ground. He bent and checked his left leg for the wound from the acromantula bite. ' _Ferula_ ', he said and waved his wand, bandages spun on Harry's wounded leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. He helped Harry stand up but Harry fell again, the pain was too much and the acromantula venom was making him dizzy.

"Can you stand?" Harry nodded but he wasn't sure. "Let's take the trophy and end this together."

Harry's head jerked towards him in shock, here was the guy who saved him from a beast and was now offering to finish it together.

"No, you saved me when you need not to. You go, you are the champion." Harry replied, he was befuddled by Cedric's generosity and selflessness.

"No, you were first here, you helped with Krum and this way it would a Hogwarts victory, don't you think." Cedric answered and swung Harry's left arm over his shoulder to support him in walking. The halted less than two feet from the trophy and admired the beauty of it. The trophy was emanating a silvery blue glow, sourced at the point where the heart should be.

"It's amazing." Cedric said in a childlike excited manner. "On the count of three then; one, two, three." They both gripped one wing of the phoenix which was in the shape of a handle.

The moment their fingers came in contact with the crystal object, they felt a pull behind their navels and they lost contact with the ground. They were swirling and the next moment they fell on a grassy surface, the cup thrown some distance away during their fall. Harry tried to stand up, he tried to held on the nearest structure for support. He turned on his place to scan the area.

His blood ran cold at the sight of his surroundings, he had been to this place, not physically present but seen this place in his dreams. They were in a graveyard, the graveyard from his nightmare. The shock of being here made his knees weak and he fell down on the floor.

"Harry, are you okay?" Harry could not answer; the shock had made him speechless. "The trophy, it was a portkey."

"We need to leave Cedric, now." Harry said in a commanding tone, his jaw clenched. He glanced towards a small tool-shed made of stones with a tiled roof. The door opened and a blinding pain shot through Harry's scar. Harry knew what was causing it, his eyes were partially closed due to the pain but he did not need to see the cause of his pain, he knew it. "Run Cedric, get to the trophy."

"Who are you, what do you want?" Cedric stood up facing the new entry on the scene, his wand targeting the new guy.

" _Kill the spare!_ ", a raspy, hissing voice said which Harry had become very familiar with.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ ", a shaky voice was heard shouting the spell, a jet of green light struck Cedric and he slumped at the spot like a puppet whose strings were cut.

"Cedric!" Harry screamed at the top of his voice, the pain in his scar and wound combined with the shock of seeing Cedric die in front of his eyes was too much for Harry and he passed out.

A/N: I apologize if you don't like the writing in the first half, I am not happy with that myself. A few surprises in the next chapter.

Please review.


	16. B1: Chapter 16 - Rebirths and Reunions

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: As things stand, there would be three more chapters before we move away from this school year. This chapter would be about the graveyard and it will contain a major change from the original series. If you think that the ritual is too graphic for T rating, please let me know; I am unsure if this needs to be rated M. The writing might be too similar to that of the original book but it was necessary. I hate long monologues but Voldemort's monologue is kind of a necessity which can't be ignored. I tried to keep it small but it's still too long for my liking and I can't help it.

I want to mention it before we go any further, I like being reviewed and appreciation as well as criticism is an essential part of growing as a writer. I just want to point out that when your reviews contain some problem with the storyline or portrayal of a character, it would be better if you logged in and reviewed so I would be able to explain my thoughts behind something in a one-on-one setting and we could discuss it in more detail.

When I receive a harsh and acid review from a guest reader, I am helpless to convey my thoughts directly to him and I would hope that he/she gives me that chance to tell my side.

Sorry for the long note, this and the previous one. Please Review.

 **Chapter Sixteen: Rebirths and Reunions**

Hermione was worried and the worry was not leaving her anytime soon. Krum and Zoe were brought out of the maze in an unconscious state a few minutes ago and every minute that passed made her even more worried. It was nearing eight o'clock and the sky had turned dark but there was no sign of Harry. Cedric and Harry were the only champions still in the maze, everyone else was rescued from it and they were unconscious. The champions outside were in the locker rooms where they were treated for their injuries, if any.

Her elbows rested on her knees while her palms covered her face, her worried gaze was fixed on the maze entrance. 'Please be okay', she was chanting it internally as a mantra, hoping that it would be so if she believed so. Ron had his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support and reassurance that he is fine. Remus had a small smile on his face which did not waver; for Hermione, his gentle gaze was comforting in a way. Snuffles sat in front of her, actually in between her legs; his head resting on her thigh, his tail waggling impatiently, it seemed he was as worried for Harry as Hermione was. Bill had a blank face but his eyes looked dark with worry, he was drumming the bench in a sign of impatience. Molly was continuously talking to Ron about one thing or other, it wasn't that she was not worried about Harry but she had a distraction readily available to her. Ron looked a bit annoyed due to the excess attention he was getting from his mother.

Since the last champion had entered the maze, audience were free to move about and students were enjoying the freedom. People used this freedom to collect their bets or discussed the progress of the task and the present situation. As nobody knew exactly what was happening inside the maze, not unlike the second task, this whole task was very boring for them. The only things they have noticed during this task were the couple of jets of red light which were a way to communicate that they wanted to be withdrawn.

Susan, Hannah and Neville had approached the two Gryffindors and spoken for a few minutes. The Hufflepuff girls tried to reassure Hermione that Harry would be alright. Neville wasn't that confident in his attempt and it came out more like a question which didn't help at all. Susan had taken a liking for the shaggy down sitting in front of Hermione and it seemed that the dog enjoyed the attention he was getting.

Even if everyone outside the maze were speculating about the action happening inside the maze, none was any closer in guessing that the real action was happening a few hundred miles away.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry's head was buzzing, it felt like he was hit on his head with a bludger, his scar was burning as if someone place an ember there. His eyelids felt heavy and as he slowly opened his eyes, his vison was foggy. He tried to move his eyes to take a look at his surroundings.

It was dark and he could not see anything clearly, he was still in the graveyard, that much was clear. He tried to move his hand but was unable, he tilted his head to find that he was tied to a big rock, most probably a gravestone. The only body part he could move was his neck but that movement was of not much use as the gravestone had blocked his view.

There was a clearing just in front of Harry where a huge cauldron was placed over a slow burning fire. The cauldron was big enough that a man could sit inside and bathe. The fire gave a sinister look to the setting. Harry raised his eyes a bit more and noticed that just opposite to him was a gravestone in the shape of a crucifix on which Cedric's body was hung, his clothes absent, his body covered in various marks. Wormtail was standing in front of the body with a dagger in his hand. It took Harry a minute to realize that Wormtail was carving runes in Cedric's body, blood was dripping down from those cuts. This whole thing made Harry nauseous but before Harry could act on that impulse, Wormtail started to chant some long incantation in a foreign language which Harry clearly didn't understand. Five minutes later, the runes glowed dark green for a moment than turned normal again.

Suddenly, Wormtail turned towards Harry and gave him a devilish smile that promised something much worse. He withdrew his wand and flicked it, the fire beneath the cauldron roared and Harry was blinded for a moment before his eyes acclimatised to the lighting. The whole scene than came into view with more clarity. Harry felt something slither past his legs and tilted his head, his blood ran cold when he saw the snake he had seen in his nightmares slither past him and coil near a bundle of clothes on the floor. Harry was silent through this; shock and fear had somehow turned his voice unable to function. The content inside the cauldron were now boiling, bubbling and vapours were rising along the smoke from the fire.

"Do it now, Wormtail." The raspy, hissing voice commanded.

Wormtail walked to his right and picked the bundle of clothes in which Voldemort was covered. He dropped the small body in the cauldron, the content turned grey, just like the body. The pain in Harry's scar suddenly flared up, way beyond his endurance. Harry thought that he was going to pass out but his mind was busy witnessing whatever that was going on.

"Soul of the master, bound to this world, deposited for resurrection."

Wormtail was saying as if it was a part of an incantation. Harry hoped that the body will be drowned in the cauldron, alas that wasn't going to happen. Wormtail then moved towards the gravestone where the small body of Voldemort was resting moments ago. He flicked his wand and the grave cracked open. Harry notice the name on the gravestone, 'Thomas Riddle'.

"Bone of father, unknowingly given, to renew the son!"

A bone which was already halfway through to turning to dust rose from the grave and fell in the cauldron. The contents of the vessel changed its colour to that of a bone. Harry noticed that Wormtail's hands were shaking and so was his voice; was it fear, Harry couldn't be sure, he was afraid beyond wits himself.

"Flesh given as tribute, by the servant, to revive the master."

He flicked his wand and to Harry's shock, Cedric's body floated towards the cauldron and fell in with a big splash. The moment it crossed the surface, the contents turned green, sparks shot out of it and a low hissing voice could be heard very clearly. Wormtail slowly but purposefully walked towards Harry and withdrew the dagger he was using to carve runes on Cedric's body. The blade was black, most certainly made of obsidian, it was sharp enough to cleave through dragonhide. He bent down and gripped Harry's left hand just above the wrist. He pressed the tip of the dagger in his hand, halfway down from his elbow, and instantly the tip penetrated through his dragonhide. He moved it down slowly along his hand, a deep cut followed and blood seeped through the cut. A few drops of blood slowly trickled towards the dagger's tip.

Wormtail moved away from Harry and stood a couple of feet away from the cauldron. His arm that held the dagger was outstretched over the cauldron, tip of the dagger pointing downwards.

"Blood of the enemy, forcefully taken, you will bring him back to life!"

And he dropped the obsidian knife in the cauldron, the contents turned blood red. The cauldron was simmering, sending red sparks in all directions.

But then, the fire beneath the cauldron suddenly extinguished, the simmering stopped, the sparks became non-existent. Wormtail slumped where he stood, his shoulders falling in defeat, Harry was sure that he heard a sob.

'Please let it be drowned', Harry was praying to every power in this world to drown it, to fail this ritual. It felt like his prayers were answered and he released a sigh of relief when nothing happened for a few seconds.

Everything was quiet.

But then the cauldron blasted, throwing everything around it back a few feet. The clearing was now filled with a grey smoke instead, the smoke was as dense as honey. Harry for a moment believed that it was gone but his thoughts were interrupted.

The dense smoke started to collapse towards its centre. A few seconds later, Harry could see the dark outline of a man, standing where the cauldron was, his back towards Harry. The terror within Harry surged beyond proportion.

"Robe me!" said the cold voice in a hissing tone. Wormtail slowly moved ahead with shaking legs and picked the robe in which the frail body was rolled before. He stepped behind his master and pulled them over his head, he quickly moved back few steps, all the while Harry could see his hands shaking. The man slowly turned towards Harry, his scarlet eyes fixed on Harry. Harry stared back in the eyes that had haunted his dreams for years. He saw the snake like face with two slits for a nose, the face he could not shake away from his mind.

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Voldemort looked away from Harry to examine himself. He lifted his hands in front of his eyes, they were large with long fingers. His pale grey skin was covered in scales of obsidian. He touched his chest and moved his hands towards his face. There was no trace of hair on his body which was covered in scales. The nose was replaced by slits, his scarlet eyes had catlike pupils. He flexed his fingers, then his arms, he could feel the power within him. He could feel the blood and magic flowing through his body.

Harry was on the verge of losing his consciousness and sanity, his mind was now driven by fear, fear for his life. He looked at the man who murdered his parents, rise from the smoke. When he looked at his face he could feel a mixture of fear, hatred and loathing for the man, no 'monster', in front of him.

"My wand, Wormtail!"

The cold voice commanded, his hand outstretched towards his servant. Wormtail moved closer and drew a wand out of a deep pocket of his cloak. He held it in both of his hands in reverence before kneeling and bowing his head, he moved his hands ahead to offer it to his master. Voldemort gently picked up the wand and caressed it as if it was the face of his long-lost lover. He gently raised the wand and the perimeter of the clearing lit with fire, lighting the whole area.

He turned towards Wormtail who was in the kneeling position. He grabbed his left arm and jerked it towards him, this action dysbalanced Wormtail who almost fell on his master. Voldemort forced the sleeve above the elbow and stared at it. Harry saw a blood red coloured tattoo which looked very similar to the mark he had seen during quidditch world cup.

It was the Dark Mark.

Voldemort gave a mirthless laugh and kept staring at the mark. He then looked up at Harry and pressed the tip of his wand on the mark. A searing pain shot through the mark on Harry's head, blinding him momentarily. When Harry opened his eyes, he saw Wormtail passed out on the ground, magical exhaustion being the reason. Voldemort was unaware that his servant was unconscious as his next words were directed at him.

"Tell me Wormtail", he sneered, "how many would come to serve their master…." He looked up towards the sky filled with stars, "and how many would be foolish enough to stay back." He moved away from his spot and walked towards the cracked grave. He stared at the gravestone for a minute before he turned towards Harry. He had a cruel smile pasted on his face, his fanglike teeth bared for Harry to see. The giant snake moved towards Voldemort and slithered up his shoulder, its head resting on Voldemort's wand arm, he was gently stroking its head with the other hand.

"You see that gravestone, Harry Potter?" His hand pointed towards the gravestone that read 'Thomas Riddle'.

"That grave belongs to _my father_." The last two words came out as a curse as if they left a bad taste in his mouth. "He was a muggle, just like your dear mother. And just like her, he was useful. Your stupid mother died while trying to save you when you were a child. My father?" He chuckled.

"I killed my father when I was seventeen. I killed his whole family and my idiot uncle took the blame. And why wouldn't he, I altered his memory." He laughed, and before speaking anymore words, he turned towards the grave, repaired it with a flick. He flicked his wand once more but this time, the gravestone was blasted out of existence.

"Do you see that house on the hill?" Voldemort now stood on Harry's side, his eyes looking at the house in distance. "That was my father's family home." He again walked away from Harry towards the centre of the clearing.

"My mother lived in the village, she was a witch, from a long line of the descendants of the great Salazar Slytherin himself." To Harry's unbelieving eyes, Voldemort looked sad. "She married my muggle father who left her even before I was born. He abandoned my mother and returned to live with his parents. He hated magic."

"I envy you, Harry Potter. My mother died just after giving birth to me. I was left in a muggle orphanage, to be raised as muggle." His eyes were burning like embers, he was looking towards the sky. "I promised myself that I will find that filthy bastard who gave me his name and I will have my revenge."

He was looking at his toes, he looked pained. "Hah, living without a proper body had turned me in a sentimental fool who enjoys his melancholy." He turned his red eyes towards Harry, his face had a mocking smile. Harry understood that all those words were to mock him, his mother, her parentage and her death. It seemed he wanted to get a reaction out of Harry.

"Ah, so you realised I was mocking you. You are quick, Harry Potter. There is still hope for you." He had a smirk on his face. Harry was now even more afraid, Voldemort knew what he was thinking but how?

Voldemort started to laugh in earnest but it was still mirthless.

"I killed my family so I can have a new one." He turned his back towards Harry and opened his arms and then Harry heard the distinct pops of apparition. People in black robes and masks were walking cautiously towards their master. They halted and bowed on the edge of the clearing, just beyond the circle of fire.

For a moment they just stood there, not even a single muscle in their body was moving. Harry could see the disbelief in their eyes and he was certain that Voldemort could too. Then one by one, they crossed the circle and bowed to him before falling to their knees and touching his feet with their foreheads. They would then rise up and return to stand just on the edge of the ring of fire, forming a semicircle, the formation had a few empty spots. Voldemort stood in the centre, unmoving, his arms stretched outwards. Harry estimated that there were at the least thirty Death Eaters standing in the graveyard.

"Welcome, Death Eaters. It has been thirteen years…. Thirteen years since we last met but you stand in front of me as if it were yesterday." He turned his head slowly, from right to left, scanning the ring of his followers.

"You all stand here, healthy, intact, wearing prim and proper robes. I could still remember when you swore eternal loyalty to me and yet, here we are. So much for eternal loyalties." He snorted but nobody reacted, everything was deathly still and silent.

"My loyal servants who believed I was gone for good. They begged for forgiveness, pleaded ignorance, innocence even, to my enemies. They now pay allegiance to that champion of mudbloods and blood traitors, Albus Dumbledore."

A shiver of unease went through each one of the Death Eaters. Some shared hesitant and hurried glances, the others kept their eyes fixed to their toes, none trying to make eye contact with their master.

"Why, I ask myself, would they believe that I shall not rise again? How could they even entertain the thought that I was gone? They had known the step I had taken to guard myself against mortality, had seen proof of my power that was beyond any wizard alive."

"I, who had gone beyond anyone on the path leading to immortality, whose life's goal was to defeat death, was considered gone by his loyal followers. I feel thoroughly disappointed."

' _Crucio_ ', he pointed his wand at the unconscious figure of Wormtail on the ground who jerked awake with a painful scream. The screams stopped after a second, the fat guy was lying in a foetus position, panting.

"Mercy, my lord!" Wormtail cried, pleading for the action to not being repeated.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful, am I not?" He said, his eyes boring into Wormtail, his face had a menacing look.

"Yes, my lord." Wormtail answered with the best attempt at regaining his composure. He was still unable to pull himself up from the prone position.

One of the Death Eaters stepped ahead and kneeled, "forgive me, my lord!".

' _Crucio_ ' was the only answer he received for his cheek.

"Forgive you? You understood me, Avery. Lord Voldemort does not forgive and he does not forget. You have worth thirteen years of repayment to make. Each one of you does." A shiver ran down across the ring of Death Eaters who were shifting from one leg to the other in the anticipation of the Cruciatus Curse. But it didn't happen.

"I paid my debt." Wormtail said in a squeaky voice which was strained due to the recent scream he had suffered. He suddenly went silent under the intensity of his master's gaze.

"I would have punished you, Wormtail, but you helped me return to my body. Even if your actions were motivated by fear rather than loyalty, I expect your debt paid, at least a part of it. May your loyalty never waver again."

"Never, my lord." He answered while rising from his spot and stepping back towards the ring, occupying an empty spot.

Voldemort started walking along the ring of his supporters, standing in front of the empty spots for a moment, noticing the absence of his captured or fallen followers. As he walked past each of his followers, he commented something, something that would send anyone else cowering. He stood in front of the first person in the line of his followers.

"Lucius, my slippery friend. I have been told that you have behaved like a true Slytherin, taking on a mask for people to see while not abandoning old ways. I would have said that I am proud of you but you disappointed me the most. Spending your energy and resources muggle-torturing, you could have spent them searching for me, but no, you enjoyed your social gatherings more than your duties."

"My lord, I was waiting in the shadows, waiting for even the tiniest clue, faintest whisper of your whereabouts and I would have been the first by your side." He realized that it was the wrong thing to do but the realization came a few seconds and a Cruciatus curse later. Malfoy was on lying on the ground, clutching his knees to his chest.

"Clues were always there, my friend, just like the Mark during the quidditch world cup. You ran away like a rat when one of my faithful casted it in the sky." He chuckled at the shocked expression on Lucius face, eyes wide open. "Oh yes, I am aware of the incident."

"Have mercy, my lord." Lucius said with the best pleading tone he could muster which wasn't very difficult as he had just suffered from Cruciatus. Voldemort just walked ahead, without giving him a second glance, "I expect more faithful service in future".

"Ah, the Lestranges." He in front of an empty spot wide enough for three people just next to Malfoy. "They would have stood here but they are enchained in Azkaban, I hope you all are aware of it." He said with a mocking expression of curiosity.

"They will be rewarded when we break them out of Azkaban. They chose to remain faithful rather than renounce their ways. Their loyalty will be rewarded beyond their dreams, indeed."

"Nott, Crabbe, Goyle. I hope you understand the next time your loyalties waver will be your last time." He said as he stepped in front of the next in the line. In unison, they answered in affirmative.

"Macnair, I was told you are still destroying dangerous beasts, but do not worry, Lord Voldemort will provide with better victims for you to slay."

"Thank you, my lord."

He then halted in front of an empty spot that was quite wide, "and here we have seven of my followers, missing. Two arrested, two dead and three absentees. Dolohov and Mulciber Jr. lying in Azkaban, Rosier and Mulciber Sr. dead."

He sighed deeply before continuing with his monologue, "One of them, who betrayed me and left forever, would most certainly be killed. One who is too afraid to return, he will surely be punished for his absence. And the one who was ever faithful, who had already re-entered my service and remains at Hogwarts. It was his effort that got Harry Potter to visit us." And he turned to face Harry now, the devilish smile present on his face.

"Harry Potter, the well-known celebrity of last decade, The-Boy-Who-Lived, what a pathetic name to give someone. Please welcome the guest of honour to my rebirthing party." There were a few snickers from the Death Eaters standing around. Voldemort stepped closer to Harry and with each step he took, the pain in Harry's scar shot up one more level. Voldemort was standing not even a foot away from Harry, the were eye level as Harry stood on the elevated gravestone.

"You know what happened that night, in that blasted house in Godric's Hallow. Your weak mother stood in front of you and got herself killed while protecting you." His eyes flicked to Harry's scar while Harry's eyes flicked to the snake still hanging from his shoulder, it's tongue flicking around. "It was an old magic that I could not foresee. Her death gave you a protection that I misunderstood and foolishly overlooked. I could not touch you. But no matter, I have circumvented the complication now. Now, I can touch you."

He raised his scaled grey finger and touched Harry on his scar. Harry felt like a volcano exploded from his scar, a burning and painful sensation went through his body. Just before he was about to pass out, the pain receded, Voldemort removed his finger. Voldemort took a couple of steps back but his eyes didn't leave Harry for a moment.

"I miscalculated in my arrogance, I admit it, the unwitting protection his mother left, it deflected my curse which rebounded on myself. And left him with nothing but a scar." He turned to face his followers now, the snake slowly slid down from his shoulders.

"The curse should have killed me, it was the test of my experiments to achieve immortality and it appears that one of my experiments must have been successful as I wasn't killed and here I stand, in front of you in flesh."

"But I suffered, a pain beyond imagination, nothing could have prepared me for that experience. My soul was ripped off from my body, I was less than a spirit, a ghost even. I was a powerless creature, weakest there ever was, but I was still alive."

"I was unable to return, without the means to help myself, without a body. But I sustained, in a faraway forest, waiting for one of my followers to come in search of me but I waited in vain. The only power I had then was to possess another's body, rats and snakes were the usual victims, preferably snakes. Everything fell in place when four years ago I came across a wizard who was a professor at Hogwarts, he was very gullible and I was able to possess him. My plan to return to a body fell apart when I was unable to steal the sorcerer's stone."

The Death Eaters standing around were spellbound with his words, no one moved a single muscle, everything around him was quiet, no sound except his voice. He looked at each one of them, one by one, to see their reactions, their response.

"I lost the body and return to my hiding spot in the forest. I was afraid that I had lost my best shot at returning to a body. It was the darkest time in my life, if it can be called that, but then Wormtail returned, not even a year ago. His affinity to rats helped in his search of me. Rats told him the spot in forest they avoided, where a dark spirit resides. And was able to find me."

"For a wizard, he was too weak but he was useful enough. Spells of my own creation helped me to gain a temporary body and tonight a dark ritual provided me the body. I could have done it earlier but I was short of one ingredient, the most important of all. I needed Harry Potter's blood, to gain the lingering protection his mother left him with."

"But how to get him? That was the only complication in my plan. He himself might be unaware of this but when his care fell in Dumbledore's hands, he invoked an ancient warding magic which was powered by his mother's protection that flows in his blood. When he was placed in the care of his blood relatives, the protection Dumbledore placed on him became active, I couldn't go anywhere near him when he lived with his relatives."

"But then fate helped Lord Voldemort and Wormtail came stumbled upon Bertha Jorkins, a ministry employee. She was a goldmine of information, all that was needed were the right tools of persuasion. She told me about the tournament, she told me about the Death Eater that would be right for this. Then came the quidditch world cup, I was weak then to kidnap him from under the nose of the ministry. But no matter, all that was required was for a portkey to get Harry Potter to me."

"Doing it under the nose of the muggle-loving fool was the challenge but my plan succeeded and here I am, standing tall, in flesh. Now, no one would challenge the power of Lord Voldemort. No one would stand between me and immortality." He turned to look Harry in the eye, Harry would have flinched but the intensity of his gaze made it impossible. He flicked his wand and the next moment, Harry was lying flat on the ground, his body numb and his feet shaky.

' _Crucio_ ', even before the words left Voldemort's lips, Harry felt excruciating pain of the order that could drive someone insane, he felt as if every inch of his skin and flesh was speared by burning knifes. Harry was going to black out due to pain but then the pain was gone, only then he realized that he was screaming. He was panting, his body was convulsing, he was feeling exhausted.

"I do not want anyone to accuse Lord Voldemort of taking advantage of his disarmed state. Wormtail, give him his wand." He took a few steps to put some distance between the two and waited for Wormtail to throw the wand to Harry. Harry hurriedly pick the wand and tried to stand up but his injured leg bad it extremely difficult, he collapsed and he could hear the laughter of the present Death Eaters.

He squared his shoulders, he would not show weakness to these bastards, he decided. He stood up, ignoring the pain from the leg. He faced the murderer of his parents and stared in his eyes, he could see the hatred there, hatred for him. He knew that he did not have much longer.

"They would have taught you this in the school, haven't they? It's tradition to bow to each other first." Voldemort said in a mocking tone and gave a half bow. When Harry hesitated to even move his eyes, he said in a mockingly tone of a teacher, "Harry, Dumbledore would be disappointed to not follow the tradition. ' _Imperio_ '."

Suddenly a feeling of content and cheerfulness washed over Harry, he knew what it was, he had experienced it before. Then he heard the voice he hated the most but could not hate it at the moment, the voice of Voldemort. It was telling him, ordering him, commanding him to bow. But why, why would Harry bow to him, to the man who killed his parents in cold blood. But his body was refusing to obey him and was about to bow. He jerked his mind internally to wake up. He was shouting ' _No_ ' continuously in his mind and then he heard that word come out of his mouth but the next moment, his nose hit the ground, blood started to flow out of his nose, down to his lips, he could taste the metallic taste of blood, his blood.

He pulled himself up, only to see the blood red eyes of Voldemort staring at him, intent to murder him was clear as day. Before Voldemort could utter the next words, Harry jumped behind the nearest gravestone in an attempt to shield himself from the inevitable end. That piece of stone was the only thing standing between him and the merry band of Death Eaters and their leader.

A spell hit the corner of the gravestone, blasting the stone and sent the debris flying in all directions. A few pieces hit Harry on the side of his face and he could feel the blood slowly trickling down from his new wounds and scratches.

"Step out from behind that stone, face me like a man, like your father, so that I can see the light leave your eyes." The voice of his mortal enemy, the bane of his life. There was nothing else to do than face him, but he won't go down easily, at least not as a coward, hiding behind stone. He gathered the remnant of his courage and stood up to walk towards his certain death, his final steps. The only emotion on his face was of determination, his eyes were filled with the look of surrender that only comes with the acceptance of the inevitable.

"As you wish." He stood tall, facing the band of blood thirsty Death Eaters and their master. He could feel his end reaching, his survival instincts took over.

' _Expelliarmus!_ '

' _Avada Kedavra!_ '

A jet of red light shot out of Harry's wand and collided in the middle with the green jet that shot from Voldemort's wand. He could feel the power, the heat coming out of his wand, he could feel the magic draining out of him. The point where their spells collided had turned into a ball of light connecting both the wands with a cord made of pure magic. The ball of light was pulsing and Harry could feel the pulse on his wand which had started to shake. He was now afraid that he would drop the wand. He gripped it tightly with both of his hands and willed his magic to pour out of him.

The ball of light started to slowly move closer to Voldemort and he reacted immediately, pushing more magic into his spell. It seemed that the movement halted but it merely slowed down. The ball was growing, expanding out, enveloping more space with each passing moment.

"Stay out of it, he is mine to kill." Voldemort shouted when one of his followers tried to step ahead.

In a few seconds, Harry and Voldemort were inside a dome of light, a barrier that separated them from the Death Eaters. The epicentre of the dome was now shifting closer to Voldemort, his wand started to shake as it neared its tip.

Suddenly a light shot through Voldemort's wand when the point of connection touched the tip of his wand. A smoke started to rise in front of him from the light that came out of Voldemort's wand, the smoke transformed to human figures.

Harry's eyes widened even more when he saw the figures. There was Cedric, the old muggle he had seen dying in his dreams, then came Bertha Jorkins. Harry's heart broke when he saw his parents' figure rise in front of his eyes, what he would not give to meet them once, see them, talk to them. He would not have to wait too long now for that. What a gruesome way for his wish to get fulfilled. His mother spoke, the voice sounded as if coming from a faraway place.

"Harry break the connection." Harry was just staring at her, he did not want to leave, he wanted to stretch this meeting with his parents. Then his father's words reached him, "We can't stop him for long, you have to be quick my son. You are brave and we are proud of you but you need to leave."

All Harry could do now was to nod his head in acceptance but before he could break the connection, his eyes drifted towards the form of Cedric. Tears prickled his eyes, it was his fault, he agreed to take the cup with him, he was killed because he was with Harry. "I'm sorry, Cedric." The words left his lips before he could think.

"Tell my parents Harry that I did not die a coward, I died looking death in the eye, I died like a brave man." All Harry could do was nod. He then turned towards the figures of his parents.

"Let it go, my son." They were saying and Harry did just that. He pulled back his wand and suddenly the figures sped towards Voldemort, giving Harry precious moments to run to the cup but his injured leg wasn't allowing him to move quickly.

' _Accio Trophy_ ', the eternal glory came zooming towards him. At his touch, he felt a pull behind his navel and the surrounding started to swirl around him, his feet left the ground. A moment later, he was deposited on the ground, it was dry, grassy but dry. He looked up, his vision blurry but he could make out the form sprinting towards him and leaning over. The silver beard was hard to miss, it was Dumbledore.

"He is back! Voldemort is back!"

A/N: Please review. I will finish book one before May is over.


	17. B1: Chapter 17 - The Return

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter was very difficult to write as it was the 'make or break' chapter for the story. Cedric is dead and there is no body, I believe you understand that this complication would be extremely difficult to deal with. I hope you like it.

Please Review.

 **Chapter Seventeen: The Return**

Hermione's first reaction at seeing Harry was to jump from her place and run at him. As she came down from the stands, she took in his present state, he was bloodied, bruised, number of cuts adorned his body, burnt clothing, bandaged leg. It was really, really bad and that was something when it came from Hermione. She had been with him to his every 'adventure' except the chamber so she had seen him all battered and bruised but his present state was horrible. Dumbledore was Helping him up, the trophy was lying on the ground, untouched by everyone present there. Harry was holding his left hand with his right, his wand still in his hand. She was now a few feet away from them, from here she could see Harry's face clearly; by 'clearly' meant, she could see horror in his eyes, horror that could only be inspired from a face-off with death. He was talking to Dumbledore and colour was draining from his face with every word that came from Harry. It seemed that Dumbledore had cast a privacy charm as she was unable to hear what was said and this suspicion was confirmed when she noticed that the Minister had similar reaction as her.

Dumbledore was holding Harry's left shoulder to steady him but what Harry had just told him made remaining steady extremely difficult as his knees went weak in shock. 'Voldemort was back, Cedric is dead, his body was used by Voldemort to resurrect himself.' The appropriate term for their mental state at the moment would have been 'shell-shocked', but his long life had bestowed him with the experience that could not be matched by any. He knew how to operate during a crisis and this certainly qualified for one.

He swiftly turned towards the students and raised his wand to his neck. ' _Sonorus_ '

"Head students and prefects, please escort the students to the great hall. Aurora, Septima, Pomona, please see that it is done without any problems. Argus, bolt the entrance to the great hall, once everyone is inside." He then turned towards the people assembled there. He was now in his authoritative role, throwing orders, his brain was now working in crisis control mode.

Hermione stood there, a couple of feet away from Harry, watching him. Harry turned to look at her and threw his arms around her, his all weight was now on Hermione. She moved her arms to embrace him and provide support, emotionally and literally as well. Harry buried his face in the side of her neck, his face was now covered by the brown bushy mane of Hermione. He breathed in her scent which had a calming effect on Harry, her warm embrace felt like healing.

The moment was over when professor Moody put his hand on Harry's shoulder, drawing him away from the embrace. Harry took a step away from Hermione, albeit reluctantly. Hermione slowly took his wand from his hand and kept it inside her robe. Harry was still holding his injured arm and he looked pale and frail.

"Miss Granger, to the great hall, now." Moody growled. Hermione reluctantly took a step back, turned to walk towards the great hall with other students but her eyes were still focussed on Harry over her shoulder.

"Minerva, please take minister and the ministry entourage to your office. Filius, escort Remus to my office and do not allow anyone near it. Severus, Madam Hooch, please retrieve your brooms and do an aerial search of the maze and the grounds. Hagrid, check the maze and the creatures inside. Alastor, keep Harry awake and don't let him go anywhere." And he turned and kneeled to closely examine the trophy. He was tapping the trophy, his wand moving in indiscernible patterns, he was whispering some spell unknown to most. His complete concentration was on the trophy, in an attempt to identify where exactly Harry was transported but all his attempts were futile, there was now lingering trace of the portkey spell but it had a lingering aura that conveyed that it had been in the surroundings where something very dark had took place. His musing ended when three professors walked towards him.

"Nothing unusual or out of ordinary, headmaster." Snape said in his usual demeanour. The words were then repeated by Hooch and Hagrid. Snape suddenly asked a question no one could believe him asking, "Where is Potter?"

"Mad-Eye migh' 'ave taken 'im to infirmary." Hagrid responded with a confused expression.

"Alastor won't do that." He was silent for a moment before suddenly turning towards the professors. "Hagrid, Hooch, serve the grounds. Severus come to Alastor's office, bring Veritaserum with you."

With those words, he turned and ran towards the castle, Snape a few feet behind him. It was a bit surprising that Dumbledore could run that fast in this age, he could put any teenager to shame with his physical condition. On his way, he drew his wand and a Phoenix patronus came into existence. "Minerva, come to Alastor's office, now!" He did not break his sprint to send the message and he had almost reached the office when he Minerva's voice behind him and Severus wasn't too far behind.

They were standing in front of Mad-Eye's door, their wands trained at the wooden door that was blocking their way. Dumbledore's eyes were fixed at the door, he whispered to his two colleagues, "on the count of three. One! Two! Three!"

The door was blasted off clean from its hinges, now they had the clear view of the room. There were two people inside, Moody and Harry; Moody was standing in the centre of the room with his wand pointed at Harry while Harry was leaning against a shelf on the left side of the room, it seemed he was about to fall.

The door being blasted off had distracted the DADA professor enough for the three other professors to cast their stunning spells. Moody hastily threw his shields up which shattered under one stunning spell, leaving him to the mercy of the other two. He was thrown away from his feet, he sailed over the desk and landed awkwardly on the chair, stunned.

Harry slumped to the ground, Minerva rushed ahead and lifted him up to his feet. She put her left arm around Harry's shoulder to bring him close to her side. Harry was shaking Minerva could feel his tremors.

Albus was now busy tying the DADA professor/imposter to the chair and putting privacy charms up. He asked Severus to administer the truth serum before he enervated him.

"Are you Alastor Moody?" Dumbledore asked.

"No." The tied-up man answered.

"Is he in the room?" Dumbledore asked him again. This time, the response was only a jerk towards the side of the room where his trunk stood. Dumbledore Snape flicked his wand and the dial lock rotated before the lid opened. Nothing was visible from where they were standing so the four stepped closer to find a twenty feet deep pit, at the bottom of which sat Mad-Eye Moody without his artificial leg and magical eyeball, in a tattered robe, his head missing chunks of his hair. He looked grotesque in this state.

Harry had started to feel light headed now, it wasn't because what he had seen. The most probable reason being the acromantula venom in his blood stream and the loss of blood he had suffered. He was about to faint when something shocked him to consciousness. The Imposter Moody was changing, transforming into someone else or rather returning to his original persona. The fake eyeball popped out of the socket, the metallic leg dislocated from the position it should have been in. Not even ten seconds later, the man tied up in the chair was revealed to be the assumed dead Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr.

"My mission is complete, he is back, my master is back." The man tied in ropes said in a maniacal voice. Dumbledore asked Harry to come forward and pull back his left sleeve so he could examine his wound. Harry did as was asked. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was absent for the first time since Harry and noticed it. He asked Snape to pull his and the incarcerated professor's robe sleeve back.

Their arms sported a red mark of a snake coming out of a skull. The cut on Harry's arm and the blood around it had somehow formed the same design on his forearm. As Dumbledore gently touched the wound, a pain travelled through Harry's body which resulted in him losing his consciousness.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry woke up with a start, the reason being the loud noises coming from some nearby corridor. He opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed, Hermione was sitting in a chair on his right-hand side, Snuffles sat there too, its head placed on the mattress of Harry's hospital bad. Remus was standing a few feet away, talking to Bill. He turned his head to the other side to find Mrs. Weasley sitting in the chair, next to her sat her youngest son, Ron. He moved his eyes to scan himself, he was wearing a hospital robe, his arms and a leg was bandaged and so was the side of his face where the pieces of stones had pierced through his skin.

"Oh, Harry!" Even before Harry could utter a word, he was in Molly Weasley's death grip of a hug, to be completely honest, it hurt. The moment he was released by Mrs. Weasley, a brown torpedo he had come to know as Hermione had flung herself at him. He wouldn't refuse a hug from her even it meant dying choking. But this hug had a different warmth to it, it wasn't smothering or awkward, it felt homely, it felt like everything was alright till he remained in this embrace.

The moment was lost when the loud noises reached the infirmary door and the door was opened with a bang. Minister rushed in, accompanied by Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape, followed closely by a pair of aurors. Hearing the commotion, madam Pomphrey came running out of her office to scold the person, her words stopped abruptly without being uttered as she took in the situation.

"It's not possible Dumbledore and I have every right as the Minister of Magic to order the kiss." Fudge was shouting, his face was as red as the Hogwarts Express engine, the vein near his temple was dangerously taut.

"Cornelius, I have told you what happened tonight, we had a perpetrator of tonight's events in our custody who you ordered to be kissed without hearing his testimony. Severus, Show him!" Dumbledore was losing his patience with the minister, his calm persona was long gone. Snape revealed the Dark Mark on his left forearm, Fudge was shocked but he kept shaking his head, refusing to accept the truth.

"Where is the body Dumbledore, if the boy is dead, as you say?" Fudge asked.

"His body was used for the resurrection ritual, Cornelius." Dumbledore answered in an even tone, trying to rein in his rising temper.

"Bollocks! This one might have killed him to get to the cup and disposed his body." Fudge said while pointing at Harry.

"You are going in very dangerous territory here, Cornelius, I would advise you to choose your next words very carefully." Dumbledore replied, glaring at the plump minister.

"There will be an inquiry in the case of the Diggory boy's disappearance." Fudge answered with his best attempt at trying to take control of the situation.

"This decision of yours is a blunder minister. I can't emphasise enough that you must see the truth and act accordingly." The words had no effect as the minister turned to face Harry.

"He is really back minister. His followers were also there. I can name a few, there was Malfoy, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair….", Harry started but was cut off midsentence.

"You are insulting some of the most respected and upstanding people of wizarding community, boy. Be careful with your words in future, Potter, you might face trouble for it. Explain that to him, Dumbledore." Dumbledore just raised his hand to stop any words of protest coming from Harry.

"Usually, there would have been a ceremony but as things stand…. Here, your winnings, a thousand galleons." He threw a large pouch of galleons on the foot of the bed and left the hospital room. Before he left, his eyes fell on Lupin, Fudge gave him a look of disgust. In response, Lupin gave him a small smile; it was certain that last year's breaking news of Lupin's lycanthropy had reached the minister.

"Is he gone around the band, bringing Dementors in the school. You should have stopped that madness, Albus." McGonagall was just getting started, "getting Crouch Jr. kissed at the first sight without hearing his confession. You are the Chief Warlock and you did nothing, Albus. The blame lies with you too." Harry hadn't seen McGonagall this angry ever, the same thing was going through the minds of Lupin and Black.

"Minerva, there are more important things to be discussed. Sirius, please turn to your Human form." Dumbledore said in his commanding voice, 'please' was just to soften the tone of order. A moment later, where the shaggy dog should have been, stood the most notorious mass murderer, the first and only escapee till date from Azkaban, Sirius Black. Couple of shrieks followed his transformation, the source being professor McGonagall, Madam Pomphrey and Molly Weasley. The next moment, four wands were pointed at him; the wand owners being Bill, Filius, Molly and Minerva.

Dumbledore tried to ease the situation in order to squash the possibility of curses being fired upon the last of House of Black. "Put your wands away, he was innocent and we stumbled upon that fact last year. You need to trust me on this." The three people in the room who were unaware of the truth stared at Dumbledore in disbelief but they lowered their wands hesitantly.

"Thank you. Now, Remus and Sirius, go to your old house and send message to the old crowd. Severus you need to return. Minerva, escort Mr. and Mrs. Diggory to your office, I want to give the news to them. Filius, ask Hagrid to come to my office and bring Madame Maxime too. Molly, please go home and send a message to Charlie that I need to speak with him, tomorrow. Bill, please arrange an audience with chief Ragnock. If there is some trouble, assure him that Dumbledore has something to convey that is of paramount importance."

Everyone started to move around the room to go towards the exit, they had work to do. Sirius gave a fatherly squeeze to Harry's unharmed shoulder before leaving. The only people left were the matron of the infirmary, headmaster, Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"Poppy, please administer a small dosage of Dreamless Sleep Draught to Harry, it should help in recuperating from the effect of acromantula venom." Pomphrey left the room to bring the said potion.

"Professor, acromantula venom is fatal. Harry…." Hermione started to say but paused to regain her composure as her voice hitched towards the end. "The amount of venom in his blood stream and the blood loss could have been disastrous. How is dreamless sleep going to help with that?" Hermione asked while gently caressing the side of Harry's face that was bandaged.

"Miss Granger, I believe that this might be the effect of the combination of basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his blood stream which might have built an immunity towards lesser venoms. There is no exact explanation available as it is a very peculiar case indeed."

The did not satisfy Hermione's curiosity completely but she could not ask any further questions as Madam Pomphrey entered the infirmary with a crystal goblet in her hand. The content of the goblet had a silvery-blue complexion, but it looked smooth as it swirled around the goblet.

"Bottoms up, Potter." Madam Pomphrey said while handing the goblet to Harry. He did what was asked and even before he could lower the goblet his eyelids started to droop. Hermione took the goblet away and placed it on the side table. She paused for a moment when her eyes landed on a green beetle sitting on the edge of the window besides Harry's bed. She slowly picked up an empty vial from the side table and stepped closer to the insect. The next moment, the insect was inside the corked vial, with an ' _Impervius Charm_ ' cast on it, making it unbreakable. She made a small hole in the cork to make a passage for air.

"It's nice to see you Miss Skeeter."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was allowed to leave the infirmary the next morning, as he woke up from a dreamless sleep, fully relaxed and almost completely healed. Ron and Hermione had stayed in the infirmary with him. Hermione held his right hand in hers, her head gently placed on his shoulder. Ron sat on Harry's left, just watching two of his closest friends since the Halloween of his first year. He was sorry but more ashamed at how he had acted this year, he tried to right his wrongs but his attempts were somehow inadequate. He knew that the mortal enemy of his best friend had returned to flesh and what that meant for Harry. It took a night to sink in but it finally did. They were heading in the direction of an inevitable war, a war that would shape the future of Wizarding Britain. The war that would decide where the next generation of wizard would stand, in Britain and in the world.

He was good at chess, at strategies and he understood how the people in power acted. He wasn't as smart as Hermione or as brave as Harry, he wasn't a leader either. He understood, his insecurities aside, that he was the sidekick to the hero Harry is or is going to become. He knew that if Harry was going to face Voldemort, he would need him by his side, that's where he was supposed to be. He can't let his best friend to go to a war without him. He would contribute whatever way he could, he was a part of a family that had become successful on their own merits and he would do his best to prove that he wasn't a failure.

They had just left the infirmary, Ron had brought Harry's clothes from his trunk and helped him get ready. Harry and Hermione were walking a few steps ahead, Ron was bringing the rear. He might not be good with emotions but he understood that they needed some time to themselves. He could hear what Hermione was telling to Harry, how she had realized the method by which Skeeter was eavesdropping on them, her animagus form of a green dung beetle. They had just taken a turn towards the Gryffindor tower when suddenly someone had thrown Harry against the wall, a wand pressed against his throat. Hermione was on the ground, shocked but she had swiftly drawn her wand and trained it at the intruder, Ron did the same. The attacker was none other than Zoe.

"Get away from him!" Hermione shouted.

"What did you do to him?" Zoe asked Harry, her wand being pushed deeper, she paid no attention to Hermione's words.

"I'm sorry, Zoe, I didn't do anything, I couldn't do anything. Please forgive me. He died trying to save me." Harry answered, a few tears escaped from his eyes, his voice shook as his emotions took over.

Zoe slowly retracted her wand, he wand arm fell limply to her side. She was stunned, tears were rolling down her cheeks and she couldn't help it. Then came the anger, towards Harry; her Cedric was dead trying to save Harry, he was the reason Cedric wasn't with her, he was the reason her future was now shattered even before it had started. She slapped Harry across his face and he did nothing to defend himself, he slowly slid down the wall and just stayed there. "You are the reason he is dead; his death is on you, Harry Potter." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving two stunned and one inconsolable teenager in the corridor.

Hermione went and sat next to Harry on the corridor floor, she slowly took his hand in her and laid her head on his shoulder, she moved slightly so that she was pressed against Harry's side. Ron just stood rooted where he was before the incident.

"What happened there Harry, in the maze?" Hermione asked in a very soft and soothing voice. Harry wanted to tell her, explain what he went through but it was hard, painful even, to go through the memories of the last night. He wouldn't want anyone to experience that. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and started to recite the tell of the most terrifying night of his life. Within minutes, he had told her everything, every detail he remembered. He paused when he reached the point when he saw his parents, Hermione noticed the pause but waited for him to continue on his own.

"I saw my parents Hermione. They were there." He could not hold his tears back.

"Oh, Harry!" she snaked her arms around him to bring him in a hug. Ron understood that they were having a moment and discretely left the couple. They didn't notice as they were busy drawing the emotional support they so needed from their contact.

"I wish they were alive, Hermione. Maybe you could find a way to bring them back." Harry asked in such a pleading voice, a voice that held hope, hope that his best friend could find a way to bring back his parents. Hermione looked into his tear-filled eyes, the deep emerald eyes that drew her into their depths, there she could see the vulnerability that she was sure nobody had witnessed before. This Harry was only hers to see, he had trusted her enough to open the door to the deepest corner of his heart. Hermione hated to disappoint Harry, she knew that nothing could bring the dead back, breaking the hope Harry had, broke Hermione's heart.

"Oh, Harry, I wish I could help you. I'm sorry but nothing could bring back the dead." Hermione answered, turning Harry's head with his chin so that she could bury his face in her bosom, to comfort him.

"He is back, Hermione, that has to be something." He asked, hope sliding away like sand from his fist. His voice was muffled as his face was flush against Hermione's chest. She was moving her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp in a soothing way.

"I wish that too." She cooed in his ear, she too was unable to hold her tears back. They stayed that way for a few minutes as Harry completed the story before walking towards the common room. Harry needed to change into his school uniform as Dumbledore had scheduled a gathering in the great hall at ten, it was half past nine already. Harry rushed to take a bath while Hermione went to his bed to put his uniform for him to wear. They reached the great hall five minutes before the event was scheduled.

Instead of long tables, there stood rows of chairs, the event was certainly a memorial Cedric Diggory. The teachers' table was also absent, the only thing that stood there was the traditional podium of Hogwarts. The hangings around the hall were in the colours of house Hufflepuff, gold and black. They found Ron sitting next to Neville and Hannah in the fourth row, Ron had kept two chairs empty for them, the empty seats were bracketed by Ron on one side and Susan on the other. The teachers were yet to arrive and so were ministry officials but it seemed like the second wasn't going to happen. He saw that Mr. Diggory was sitting in the front row with his wife on his left. He could not fathom what they were going through but he needed to pay his condolences to them. But he decided to wait till the memorial was over. As he reached the empty spot, Susan stood up to give him a tight hug which Harry returned.

"Are you alright, Harry?", she asked him. Harry just nodded, he did not want to talk about last night anymore, Susan did not push him either. They sat down and a couple of minutes later, teachers took their seats in the front while Dumbledore walked up to the podium.

"It is a sorry event that had brought us all here today. We lost one of our own, one of the brightest prospects of the wizarding Britain, a brave and loyal soul last night. Cedric Diggory died last night, ministry does not want you to know about it but it is my belief that you have a right to know what happened last night." He paused so that the news of Cedric Diggory's death could sink in and the murmurs die down. The Daily Prophet had printed that Cedric had disappeared during the final task, the whole event of the final task was downplayed and shifted to sports page instead of the front, there were no details, no accounts of the people present there, no statement from the school or Dumbledore, just a short article that the tournament is concluded and Harry Potter won it.

"Last night, one of the Death Eaters, who was supposed to be dead had transported Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory to an unknown location via a portkey. A conspiracy to resurrect Lord Voldemort was in motion. Cedric Diggory died protecting Harry Potter from Lord Voldemort. His body was used in the ritual to resurrect Voldemort."

"Cedric Diggory died fighting to save an innocent and we should remember that. We should remember it because there will come a time, not far from now, where we would need to choose between what is right and what is easy. If we remember that and do what is necessary then the sacrifice Cedric Diggory made, would not be in vain. If we promise to do what is right, in the face of danger, that would be the biggest tribute to a boy who was like a burning torch in a night of complete darkness."

He stepped away from the podium and stood in front of it. He looked exhausted, his energy and cheerfulness was drained. He stepped down from the raised platform and stood in front of the grieving parents. He shook their hands and paid his condolences, many people followed his lead. Harry stopped Hermione from going ahead, he wanted everyone else to leave before he could talk to Cedric's parents.

Five minutes later, the only people left in the great hall were Cedric's parents, Zoe, Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Susan. Zoe was talking to Cedric's mother, both of the women were in tears. They hugged each other as if their life depended upon it, they both had lost the closest man to their heart. Harry stepped closer to Mr. Diggory so he could talk to him.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Diggory. He was…. He was a brave person. He deserved to be the champion, please accept the winnings which should have been rightfully his." He offered the pouch but Mr. Diggory refused and Harry did not want to push them. Harry was then called by the headmaster to his office. Harry had to wait a couple of minutes while Dumbledore spoke to the Diggorys.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Dumbledore and Harry walked towards headmaster's office in complete silence. Dumbledore ushered Harry inside his office as they stood in front of the oak door with brass griffin knocker. Dumbledore sat in his chair while Harry sat in the chair opposite him.

"How are you, Harry?" Dumbledore asked in a grandfatherly way, concern was clear in his tone. Harry just shrugged, he wasn't sure how he was feeling exactly but 'fine' didn't fit that feeling. Dumbledore nodded in understanding, he could sympathize with the boy.

"First, I must apologize for the last night, I had to extract memories from you as you had fallen unconscious. It was necessary for me to know the details but I could not show that to the minister, it would have been pointless as you are underaged and similar to last year he might believe that you were hallucinating under the effect of some substance." Harry was surprised but he understood the reasoning and did not think much of it.

"It was also helpful that you do not need to go through the experience again to tell the tale. You might have many questions and I would try to answer them the best I can if you so wish to ask." Dumbledore looked at him, anticipating a flurry of question but the question Harry asked was the one he was expecting the least.

"Can my parents be brought back, just like he returned?" Harry asked, more like pleaded.

Dumbledore needed few seconds to articulate his thoughts

"Nothing can bring dead to life, Harry. You should not let your mind wander in those corners of thought. Voldemort's and therefore your case is peculiar and one of a kind. When Lily died protecting you, she gave you a protection that flows through you with your blood, that's why you were placed with your aunt. The protection your mother left you with was the cause of Voldemort's destruction but he did not die that night Harry. He survived as a detached soul, unlike ghosts, he did not crossover."

"Do you know how he did it professor?" Harry asked.

"I have my theories but there is nothing to substantiate them. I can only speculate, Tom isn't predictable in his methods but all of them are dark and repulsive."

They were silent for a couple of minutes, both of them going through their thoughts. "Professor, in the graveyard, there was a moment when my wand and Voldemort's, sort of connected."

Dumbledore nodded, "Ah, it took four years for this to come up. What do you know about wand cores, Harry?"

"I'm sorry, sir?" Harry was confused that why would Dumbledore ask such question.

"Do you know which are the common wand cores, Harry?"

"Err…. There is unicorn tail hair, dragon heart string and phoenix feather."

"Yes, these are the most common wand cores in Britain. Their commonness is in that particular order too, Harry. Most common is unicorn tail hair because they are easy to come by. A bit less common core is dragon heart string because killing dragons is illegal and so is breeding them for the purpose of using their organs." Harry was still confused that why he was being given this lecture about wand cores when he had asked about something that happened between him and Voldemort.

"The least common among these three is phoenix feather. The reason is that you can't pluck a feather from a phoenix, phoenix has to give the feather by its choice. Can you guess how common phoenixes are?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not very, I guess." Harry answered the rhetorical question.

"They are very rare, Harry. They are very powerful creatures, Harry, they are born from fire and light and they bond with a wizard of same characteristics. Phoenixes are very detached magical creatures and as far as I was able to confirm, there are only seven bonded phoenixes and no more than thirteen independent." Harry just nodded so Dumbledore continued. "You might be thinking that why you are being lectured by an old fool about wand cores and phoenixes. I want to give you an idea why what happened in the graveyard was a very rare occurrence."

"Harry the phoenix feather that was used to make your wand came from one particular phoenix. Can you guess?" Dumbledore asked with an intriguing smile.

"Fawkes!" the realization was sudden, as sudden as Cedric's death.

"Yes, the time since I had bonded with Fawkes, it has only given to feathers which is very peculiar behaviour. One of which is in your wand, the other, you might have guessed already." Harry nodded before saying just one word, "Voldemort".

"Fate is a cruel thing, Harry and as fate would have it, the wand that chose you had a brother that gave you that scar. When we spoke after you had rescued Miss Weasley from the Chamber, do you remember what I told you?" When Harry nodded in affirmative, Dumbledore continued with his thoughts. "The night Voldemort was destroyed and you received the scar, you also received some powers from Voldemort himself, although he was unaware of it. That, your wands being brothers and now Voldemort sharing your blood had made your connection to him even more intricate."

"I believe that the reason your wands connected was an amalgamation of these factors."

There was silence for the next couple of minutes as Harry absorbed the ton of information dumped on him. He was trying to churn this information in his brain when another question popped up. "Sir, when he touched my scar, he did not burn like Quirrell did."

"Taking your blood for the resurrection ritual had nullified the protection around you against him." Dumbledore answered sombrely.

"So that means I don't need to return to Privet Drive!", Harry was very excited as he realized that he might get to leave the 'Durzkaban'.

"I wish that were true, Harry, protection on your person has been nullified but the protection I placed on your aunt's house is still there and that is our best chance to keep you safe."

All the excitement and hope was sliding away and he was trying his best to keep a hold of it. "But I could stay with Sirius and Remus, their house is under ' _Fidelius_ ', nobody would know about me."

"Harry, Remus and Sirius would be very busy this summer and for most part won't be present at home. I'm sorry but you have to return to your aunt's house." The look Dumbledore gave him, made it clear that this discussion had ended. He sighed, he had resigned to the inevitability of his return to his summer prison.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

The events of last night had pushed the schedule a few days ahead. Guests were scheduled to leave on second-last day of June while Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave on the last day of June. But now the guest would be leaving on the evening of twenty-fifth while Hogwarts Express would leave the next day.

When Harry returned from Dumbledore's office, he was told the news about the preponing off the departure. 'Ha, I have an extra week to spend at Dursley's, how exciting.', he thought. As the train would be leaving the next morning, he had to pack his belongings and he had only one night. But before he would go to his dormitory, he had to tell Hermione something.

His discussion with Dumbledore and the walk from the office to Gryffindor Tower had given him enough time and another perspective about the situation. His arch nemesis, his mortal enemy was back and an innocent person had died just because he was spare, just because he was present alongside him. He and his friends have faced danger before, together but now the situation had changed drastically. He can't let his friends in the danger, they can't be anywhere near him, he didn't want them to get in the crossfire. That meant, he had to break up with Hermione, she was his best friend first and he was damn sure that if Voldemort came to know that she was his girlfriend, she would be number three on Voldemort's 'to kill' list, after Dumbledore and Harry. Her being a muggleborn did not help in this case.

He had to break up with her before dinner so that the Hogwarts rumour mill could make sure that everyone knew about it by tomorrow morning. He had to distance himself from his friends, especially Hermione, if he had to keep them safe.

He asked Hermione if they could go for a walk and she agreed without any questions. They started walking and Hermione stepped closer and coiled her arm around his. They were not for very public displays of affection but this helped to ease Harry's nerves, somewhat. The walked out from the castle and Harry led them to their favourite spot on the lakeshore. It was a fine summer afternoon, the sun was up, there was a light breeze, they could hear the rustling of leaves around them. Usually on a day like this, most of the students would have been out on the grounds or by the lake but today they were inside. Only a few were present on the grounds, this sparseness would suit the talk to come. They sat on the rock on the shore, footwears removed. Their toes touched the surface of lake, the cool water felt pleasant, the ambiance was relaxing.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm."

"I need to tell you something." This got her attention and she turned to look at him.

"What's wrong, Harry?" He could see the concern and affection in his eyes, for him. But he had to be strong and do what was necessary.

"I think it's best if we broke up, Hermione." Harry said, he did not meet her gaze. His eyes were looking at their intertwined fingers. As Hermione started to protest, he stopped her.

"Hermione, please hear me out first." She nodded.

"Voldemort is back and you being my girlfriend will put you in grave danger. You are my best friend first and I care for you and therefore I can't let you get in danger because of me."

"Harry, you are stupid if you think that I would breakup with you because of this. And regarding what you said, it was load of Hippogriff dung. How can you even think that?" She scolded him. Harry looked ashamed but he was determined to keep her safe and that's what he was going to do.

"Hermione, it for my peace of mind, I would be more relieved if you were in no danger." He pleaded to her. He was stubborn and so was she, hence, it wasn't going to be easy and both of them knew it.

Hermione understood where he was coming from, she knew that he was stubborn and there was nothing she would say that would make him feel better. She understood that it was because of the shock of Voldemort's return and given time he would understand her point. Right now, she needed to end this conversation so that they do not strain their friendship. She would make everything right when they would meet during summer.

"alright, if that's what you want, Harry. But you need to understand that it is my decision if I want to be with you or not, I am to decide what I do and nobody else."

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled Harry for a hug, Harry did not resist and buried his face in the side of her neck. Her bushy mane was tingling his forehead so he nuzzled in her neck even more, this sent a shiver down Hermione's spine. She would miss this contact, she would miss the affection. Now she had a mission, apart from keeping Harry alive that is, to make everything right with him and herself.

A/N: Please Review. Sorry for late update, I was moving to a new place so the preparation and packing took a lot of time. I will finish 'book one' before the end of this month.


	18. B1: Chapter 18 - London Bound

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter is the conclusion of 'Book One'. I hope you agree with the 'break-up' as it would give me more opportunity to build up their relationship while keeping aside the romantic aspects of it, they won't be together for the most part of summer anyway. Many of the OCs would be put to rest but a couple of them would be reappearing sometime in the sixth and seventh year, there might be a few mentions along the way. In one review, someone pointed out that Harry forgave Molly without her apologizing. I forgot to mention it, that Fred and George wrote to their mother and explained the situation and Molly subsequently accepted that she might have gone a bit overboard. I completely missed to write that part. Sorry for the short chapter.

Any suggestions are welcome. Please Review.

 **Chapter Eighteen: London Bound**

Hermione was on her way back to common room, she had left Harry behind as he needed some time on his own to figure out a few things. She crossed paths with someone she did not want to be in the same room with, her steps halted when she noticed him. Victor Krum was waiting for her in the corridor leading to the painting of the fat lady. He was scanning the corridor when his eyes fell on her, a small smile came to his usually emotionless face. His body language showed his hesitation, his eyes had the look that said he was sorry.

She wanted to walk around him, to avoid any awkward conversation but she realized that he was there to talk to her. She took a took a deep breath and walked ahead but before she could say anything, Krum raised his hand to stop her and handed an envelope. Without any words, he walked away, leaving Hermione with a lot of questions and an unopened envelope. She had half a mind to throw it away and walk ahead but the part of her brain that wanted answers overpowered the other part.

She entered in the common room but skipped spending her time there and went straight to her dormitory to go through the letter she just now received. ' _Merlin, I hate to have questions_ ', she was musing. She methodically opened the envelope with a knife and extracted the letter within, the letter wasn't long and she preferred it that way.

 _Hermione_

 _I must first apologise if I had been the source of any trouble, it was not my intention. Secondly, I must clarify that I did not want to come between you and Potter, I most certainly was interested in you but there was no ulterior motive to it, my interest in you was genuine since the beginning._

 _I know you are with Potter but I just want to ask you if we can be friends? Would it be alright if I write to you, would you be willing to reply?_

 _Waiting for your answer,_

 _Viktor_

She was now a bit confused, Krum's behaviour during Yule Ball and after the second task did not resemble the words he had written. But Hermione had spoken with him before Harry and she became a couple and he seemed a genuinely good guy. She decided that there was no point in starting correspondence with him now and hence she would decline his offer. She wrote a short reply and exited Gryffindor tower to send the reply, Mercury was in the Owlery so she had to go till there as it would not look good to personally handover the letter to Krum.

On her way, back from the Owlery, she noticed that Harry was standing near the Abraxan paddock but he wasn't alone, Fleur Delacour was standing with him. Hermione stood there, watching Harry spending a few light moments, he was patting a Abraxan and Fleur was showing him how to. Hermione would have given anything to be with him, to see him smile but she knew now was not the time, he needed some time on his own. As she was about to turn and leave, she saw that Fleur gave him a hug which lasted a second longer than it should have before she kissed him on both cheeks and walked back to the French carriage. Hermione felt a tinge of jealousy but she had to push those thoughts away. She knew Harry enough to know that he won't just break with her and get together with Fleur, ' _what a stupid thought indeed_ '.

Harry just stood there, watching the flying horses. He had spoken to Fleur, he wanted to know if she was alright, he still had the image of fallen Fleur in his mind. They had spoken about a few mundane things and Harry was grateful for that. Fleur told him that it was Veela magic that helps them understand and gauge human emotions better than others. She showed him how to call an Abraxan and how to pat him the way they preferred. It was calming really.

As she left, Harry kept thinking about his friends. He did not have many friends before Hogwarts, the exact number of friends was zero actually, but things changed since he arrived here. He had made friends, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred-George, Dean, Seamus, his quidditch team members, Ginny (even though she was unable to speak in front of him). The numbers dipped for a while and at one time Harry thought that he was back to zero but then Hermione was there and Neville and then he regained his friends one by one. He made a few new ones too, Susan, Hannah, Fleur, Cedric.

Cedric.

He was dead and Voldemort was back. Because of him, he was the reason and now his friends were in danger. It was his fault and the guilt he was feeling was justified, according to him at least. Hermione would have surely scolded him for these thoughts but he was unable to get it out of his mind. The flash of green light and the lifeless eyes of Cedric would never leave him alone now. It was as clear as day and every time he closed his eyes, that scene, that particular moment flashed through his memory.

A war was coming, he was sure of that, Dumbledore had himself told him that. He needed to be strong, he did not want the same fate for his friends that had befallen on Cedric. He needed to be strong, to be prepared, he needed to become powerful to save those he loved. Even the thought of losing any one of them was beyond painful.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

At the conclusion of the dinner, everyone rose and walked out to the main courtyard of the castle. The tournament was over and now it was time to say goodbye to the guest. Hogwarts student body gave a guard of honour to the guests as they walked towards their transports. The air was heavy with the events of the last night and there was no cheerfulness about it. Friends from different schools were hugging each other, extracting promises to stay in touch, to meet during the summer, to exchange letters. There were a few smile but many tears, it felt like the end of an era, the era of peace. Dumbledore met every head of institute before a professor led them and their contingent towards their transport. The whole exercise did not last even quarter of an hour and then the castle was silent.

The heavy silence that engulfed the castle was broken when Dumbledore asked the students to return to the great hall. Students settled before teachers entered, many of them did not go to their house-tables and sat with their friends from other houses. Susan and Hannah were sitting beside Hermione and Neville respectively, Ginny was sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

Harry looked around himself, all his friends were here. His quidditch team and Lee Jordan were sitting a few seats away on his right while Dean and Seamus were sitting on the opposite side. Ron was sitting across him, Neville and Hannah next to Ron. Hermione occupied the seat on Harry's right hand side, Susan was next to her. He wanted to memorise their faces, he won't be seeing those faces for the next few weeks. It won't be easy and if fate played anymore cruel games, the summer would turn to hell very quickly.

His musings were halted as Dumbledore walked in and stood behind his podium, a wave of his hand and goblets of chocolate-y beverage appeared in front of the students.

"Our journey this year is reaching its end. Most of us would return next year, some of us will embark on their future adventures of life. But the bond we share, as one big family, the bond of mutual respect, affection and acceptance with all our quirks, differences and bitter-sweetness, that bond will remain intact. Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you."

He raised his own goblet, "To Hogwarts!"

"To Hogwarts!"

They all drank to it, emotions were running high and nobody wanted to ruin the harmonious atmosphere, except a few Slytherins that is. Hermione wanted to hold Harry's hand, to comfort him, to try to reduce his pain. But she was unsure if she was allowed to do that after their breakup. As their goblets emptied, students started to leave the great hall in small groups. The train was to leave next morning and people had very less time to pack.

Harry did not leave immediately, he wasn't exited to return 'home'. His home was here, the words Dumbledore had spoken couldn't have been truer for anyone else sitting in the great hall than Harry. He had received respect as a human being, he was accepted as a person, he was recipient of the affection of many people; all this happened here, at Hogwarts. He was going away from his family, from his home for more than a month. Merlin, he wasn't looking forwards to it.

Neville and Hannah left first, everyone understood their need to say goodbye in private before they were to ride the Hogwarts Express. Ron was next to leave, he had packing to do and a few matches of chess to win against Seamus. Hermione did not want to leave Harry, she had no worries about packing, right now Harry was her priority. 'When wasn't he?', she mused. But she understood that she was not the best person to talk to him at present, he needed to talk to an outsider, someone who wasn't involved much with him, who did not know what had happened last night. The logical response was Susan and when has ever Hermione Granger refused a logical decision.

She turned towards Susan who was looking at her. An unspoken understanding passed between them and when Susan nodded, Hermione rose from her seat, bid Harry goodnight and left the great hall. By the time Hermione exited, the great hall had emptied significantly. Susan waited for Harry to acknowledge her presence and break the silence, she was not going to do it.

"You should go and pack, Susan. Aren't you going home?" Harry asked a minute later, his eyes still fixed on the empty goblet in his hand.

"Aren't you?" Susan asked and a moment later she realized that that was the wrong thing to say because the only response she received was a sarcastic chuckle from Harry. She did not wait any longer and rose from her seat.

"Let's go for a walk!" she said while offering a hand to him.

Harry hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand which he dropped once he stood up. They strolled around the castle for a few minutes in a comfortable silence that could have lasted for years and nobody would have opposed.

"What's on your mind Harry?" She probed but not too forcefully.

"Too many things." That was the only answer he gave. Harry wasn't even looking at her, his gaze was fixed ahead, his eyes focussed on something in distance.

"Want to share any?" She asked, slightly turning towards him. She bumped her shoulder with him but he did not respond.

"Don't want to bore you." He answered flatly before stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"Try me!" She replied and took hold of his left arm with both of her hands.

"May be some other time." He answered, his head turning away from her, he was looking at the sky. They were in a deserted corridor which hadn't seen many students for some time, the thick layer of dust was evidence enough.

"I would write to you this summer." They halted and Susan stepped in front of Harry to face him.

"Uh huh."

"You are behaving very rudely, Mr. Potter." Susan said, her voice rising just a bit.

"I'm sorry." Harry answered and leaned on the wall next to him. "I would try to reply."

"What's wrong, Harry?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "Is everything alright with you and Hermione?"

Harry started to walk and Susan had to walk faster than she was accustomed to maintain pace with him. "We broke up."

"Oh."

In any other situation, she would have rejoiced the fact that he had broken up with Hermione and she was the one to comfort him but the circumstances have changed drastically in the last twenty-four hours. She still needed to know the reason, maybe there was still a possibility for her. "Why? What happened? How did Hermione let this happen?"

"I don't want to paint a bull's eye on her back too. One is enough for both of us." He chuckled, "I had to force her to break up."

"How are you?" She asked, a genuine concern taking over her features.

"I don't know." He simply answered and closed his eyes for a moment.

"How is Hermione?" She wanted to know how Hermione had reacted to it. she looked worried during their post-dinner gathering.

"I have no idea, haven't spoken to her much since…."

"You should not live things hanging, Harry, it would hurt both of you." Harry decided to take this advice and talk to Hermione when he reached to the common room.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

As Harry was returning to the Gryffindor tower, he met the twins who were just exiting from the portrait hole, deep in discussion.

"We need to do something about the galleons."

"We will find a way, it's a big sum."

Harry stopped them, "hey guys, what are you up to?"

"Nothing we need to burden you about, Harry." One of them answered.

"Look guys, I have some money that I want to throw away. Want to catch it?" Harry asked. The twins looked at him suspiciously.

"It's ok, Harry, we can manage." The other twin answered this time.

"Guys, I'm not going to use that money anyway. If you refuse, I will just throw it from the astronomy tower. If you want to, consider it a loan for whatever you are planning."

The twins discussed in their secret way before they both agreed. Harry told them that he would hand them the galleons later that night. One less thing to deal with for him.

Once the 'discussion' was over, the three of them entered the common room and went their separate ways. Harry searched for Hermione but when her absence was confirmed, he left to his dormitory to prepare for his departure the next morning.

He emptied his trunk completely, the floor of the trunk was littered with owl treats, broken quills, scrap pieces of parchment and a ball of socks. Harry remembered what was inside that, a Pocket Sneakoscope which Ron had given him on his thirteenth birthday. Harry hadn't realized it before but now it was quite clear to him that the reason for the misbehaviour of sneakoscope last year was the presence of Wormtail in vicinity, the instrument was doing its job. A smile came to his face with that thought.

He cleaned the trunk before organizing his books at the bottom of the trunk. 'Hermione would be proud', he thought to himself. Once all his belongings were back in the trunk, he closed the lid and sat there, his eyes unfocussed. Suddenly he remembered something, something quite important. This year, he had lost one of his family heirlooms, if you can call it that, the marauders' map, to a Death Eater.

He quickly jumped up from his bed and sprinted out of the Gryffindor tower to Mad-Eye's office. He wasn't very positive about his prospects but he had to try, he can't just give it up a piece of his father's creation. When he reached his destination, he gently pushed open the door. The office was almost barren of any article except Moody's desk and chair.

Harry walked up to the desk, there it sat, the piece of parchment, in the centre of the mahogany desk, still active. On the top of it was an envelope, addressed to him. He tore open the envelope to find a brief letter, the name of the sender absent. The letter was penned in an artistically curvy cursive writing.

 _Harry_

 _Leaving something that belongs to you._

Those were the only words in the note. He stuffed the note in his pocket before opening the map. He laid the whole map on the desk and surveyed the castle one last time before leaving for the summer. He noted that majority of the students were in their dormitories, a handful of the others either in common rooms or busy in some amorous activities behind closed doors of broom cupboards. It was the last evening the castle indeed.

He checked the Gryffindor common room, the quidditch team from the previous years was there, except Oliver, Ginny was sitting in a corner, Ron was with Seamus and Dean, most probably busy in a match of wizard's chess. He checked the close by section of map, Hermione was in her dormitory, the dot of her name was static, probably asleep; another dot was there beside her, Rita Skeeter. 'Merlin, I hate that beetle', he swore internally, he would have fed it to Hedwig but then he would be crossing a boundary.

His eyes wandered to other parts in search of other familiar names. He saw Neville and Hannah in some unused corridor on the third floor, he was happy for his fellow Gryffindor. He saw Susan in the Hufflepuff common room, some of his fellow fourth years of that house sitting alongside her. He moved towards the dungeons in search of his potion's master, just out of curiosity. When he did not find him in his office or his personal store or study, he checked the remaining map for the bat-like professor but there was no sign of his presence.

He was thinking about the disappearance when his eyes fell on the part where the DADA office was. There was the dot named 'Harry Potter' and there was another one, at the threshold. The label on the dot read 'Albus Dumbledore'. Harry was certainly surprised, a small amount of fear crept through his heart without any reason other than he had allowed himself to be unaware of his surroundings. He was so immerged in the search of Snape that he had left himself vulnerable to be attacked from behind, he scolded himself.

"Good evening, professor." Harry said without moving his eyes away from the map.

"Good evening, Harry. I hope I didn't startle you." Dumbledore replied while walking ahead and standing next to him, peering over the map.

"Not much, sorry I wasn't aware of your presence." Harry answered flatly, his eyes still on the map.

"I did not want to intrude." Dumbledore replied truthfully.

"You knew about it?" Harry asked, his voice smaller than he had expected.

"Yes, for quite some time actually. James once mentioned it but his explanation was a couple of lines short."

Harry laughed lightly at the meaning of his statement. Without the activation and deactivation phrase, the map was useless and dangerous, respectively.

"They were quite talented, your father and his friends or Marauders, as they like to call their band of mischief-makers. The charm work and rune work is quite extensive and delicate." Dumbledore paused before turning towards Harry. "It is rightfully yours and I respect that but I would advise caution, Harry."

Harry just nodded before deactivating the map and pocketing it. He did not want to give away the map again due to his recklessness.

"You look worried about something." Dumbledore asked him.

"How did you know that I was here?" Harry asked.

"I placed a charm on the envelope, I was informed the moment you touched it. It was just a precaution so that no one else get their hands to it." Dumbledore answered, a twinkle in his eyes clearly visible.

"Where is Snape?" Harry found himself asking the question.

"Professor Snape, Harry." Dumbledore corrected while sidestepping the question.

"Where is professor Snape, sir?" He asked again, more politely.

"Away." That was the only answer he received before Dumbledore bid him farewell.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It was exceptionally calm for Hogwarts express on a return trip to London. Harry was sitting in a compartment with his friends, there was Ron, Hermione, Neville, Susan, Hannah and Ginny. Not much was spoken in the few hours they have spent on the train except for during the visit by the Snacks Trolley.

Hermione was busy reading a book about charms, Neville had a herbology book opened on his lap, Ginny was reading the 'Quidditch Monthly' while Susan was busy solving the crossword in Daily Prophet. Ron and Hannah were busy in a closely contested match of chess. It was very rare for Ron to have competition in this, it was a shock for Ron when he lost the first match against Hannah on the train. Since then, he was busy getting revenge on her.

Harry was sitting by the window, completely lost, detached from what was happening in the compartment. His head was resting against the warm glass window, his eyes were busy watching the trees move, the scenery change, it gave him a feeling of calmness. It was a welcome relief from the inner turmoil and fear.

His head snapped towards the door of the compartment when there was a loud bang. What Harry saw intrigued and surprised him to no end. The door to the compartment was open and at the threshold stood Draco Malfoy, like a statue. His two goons were fallen on the floor of the corridor, stupefied, one turning green while the other sporting tentacles on his face.

Before Harry could say, ask or do something, the twins dragged away the frozen Malfoy and his goons. Their departing words were, 'we will take out the trash'. By the time, Neville was done explaining what had happened, they were about to reach the magical platform of the King's Cross station.

They were ready to debark when the train came to a halt. As Harry stepped down from the express, he was engulfed by Molly Weasley in a tight hug. He said his farewells to the other Weasleys who left via floo. Susan gave Harry a hug before she also left to find her aunt, Hannah following a moment later. Neville was searching for his grandmother, he left after a handshake when he noticed her standing a few yards away, leaving Harry and Hermione on the platform. There weren't many people left on the platform by the time Neville left.

Harry waited for Hermione to leave first but she did not make a move to cross the barrier. She had sent Mercury to inform her parents about her early arrival so she was certain that they would be standing on the other side of the stone barrier of platform nine and three quarters. She knew that she had to say her goodbyes to Harry here and now, before they cross the barrier because once they would do that, they would be putting quite some distance between themselves. She could not say him goodbye in front of her parents because then there would be question asked about it.

She looked at him with an expectant look, he was standing there with his head bowed, not meeting her gaze. She stepped closer to him before throwing her arms around him and bringing him in a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her a moment later and buried his face in her bushy hair. The hug was so tight that even air could not pass between the two humans. They clung to each other as if they were holding to a wooden trunk in a flooding river.

They just there like that for five minutes before Hermione broke the embrace but she did not move away. She looked in his eyes and saw the unshed tears and she was sure that those tears reflected in her eyes too. She kissed his cheeks and whispered in his years, "I'll miss you."

Harry kissed her forehead before replying, "I'll miss you too."

The next moment, Hermione was walking out of the barrier, not looking back even once. Harry waited for a minute before leaving the platform. By that time, he was one of the last people on the platform, he saw Ernie McMillan standing on the platform, most certainly waiting for his parents.

There was no sign of the Dursley Family, he checked the whole platform but there was no sign of his obese uncle, too-fat cousin or horse-faced aunt. He thought they had decided to skip the welcoming. He took the Knight Bus for Little Whinging and walked the remaining distance to the Dursley Residence in Privet Drive.

The sight that welcomed him was better than he would have expected. The door was locked, he waited in the backyard for an hour or so but when the Dursley family did not arrive even after the sunset, he retrieved the spare key from behind the flowerpot on the left of the backdoor and entered the house before closing the door behind him.

He was finally back at Durzkaban.


	19. B2: Chapter 19 - Summer of Problems

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This is the beginning of the second book (OoTP). There is no explicit mention of child abuse but a sentence indicates as much. Please correct me if I am wrong in keeping the rating as T. The letters are taken from the original book but they are edited to different degree.

Please Review.

Chapter Nineteen: Summer of Problems

How ironic it was that it actually made him laugh. Fourteen years back, the same person had revealed the similar secret to him and today that person held his secret. Voldemort had come full circle in the last fourteen years, albeit in reverse. He was revealed the secret of Potter's whereabouts by Wormtail, he had gone there to obliterate Harry Potter and in turn got himself destroyed. The same person got him back to flesh with some assistance from none other than Harry Potter.

Voldemort had put the Riddle Manor under a _Fidelius_ with Wormtail as its secret-keeper. It belonged to his father's family and for the past year, he had made it his home, although reluctantly and without any choice. He had planned that he would announce his return to the world of mortals with the death of Harry Potter at his hands. But Harry Potter got lucky once again and his plan got screwed up royally.

There was a silver lining still, Potter's escape had bought him precious time. He had some mistakes to rectify, some accounts to balance and some debts to be settled. He would remain hidden, his presence unverified so that he can make his moves without the ministry being any wiser.

He was waiting for one of his followers of past, he had to implement his plans, soon. Lord Voldemort was not known for his patience but the past fourteen years had taught him that trait very well. He was more mature and patient than the last time. He would wait to take the fight to the ministry until he had all the information he needed, all the forces he wanted and all the pieces of play in favourable position.

Voldemort was standing in the master bedroom of the manor, on the top floor, facing the large window. There was nothing in the room to call it as master bedroom apart from the fact that Lord Voldemort occupied it. the room was barren except for a king-sized bed and a fireplace. On the opposite side of the fireplace was the large window that opened towards the village of Little Hangleton.

There was a knock on the door and a moment later it half opened with a creak. Wormtail's head leaned in from the gap, he surveyed the surroundings before stepping inside the room. He flinched when his eyes fell on his master's slithering pet that sat in a corner in a coil. He did not like snakes and anyone would think that he would have grown used to this one after a year but the creature was more sinister than any he had come across.

"Master, he is here." Wormtail said after bowing, his voice small and shaky.

"Send him." The Dark Lord answered. Couple of seconds later, a man in completely black cloak entered the room and bowed low.

"Master, you have returned." The man said in an emotionless voice. His face was blank, he did not dare show any emotion.

"How are you my greasy friend, I couldn't get a hold of you." Voldemort replied, a menacing smile coming to his face.

"Master, I waited for your return, I kept my eyes and ears on your worst enemy, this was all a mask." The man answered, he finally met his master's burning gaze. He felt a sudden jolt in his head but he did not flinch, that would have been suicidal, he did not react in anyway and stood there unperturbed.

" _Crucio_!", he felt burning knifes penetrating every inch of his body. This wasn't new to him but it had been years since he had experienced this. He fell to the ground, his knees coming up to his chest, his body convulsing. When the curse was lifted, he realized that he was screaming his lungs out. He moved himself in a kneeling position but kept his head bowed.

"Forgive me, Master. I was doing as you would have asked." He said, his voice hoarse after the screaming.

"I believe you." Voldemort replied while stepping closer to his kneeling servant so that he was just inches away from him. "Now tell me what you had discovered fifteen years ago and this time I want the complete form of it."

"I had given you whatever I knew master." The reply to his statement was another cruciatus curse which lasted mere seconds but felt like hours of pain.

"In the last fourteen years, you were unable to find it in completeness and yet you say that you spied for me." Voldemort asked, bending on the waist so that his eyes were few inches away from the black eyes of his follower.

"I have something for you master. The boy, he get this visions of yours. He could sometimes see through your eyes." The Death Eater answered from his kneeling position, panting. He felt drained, his knees felt weak and body aching.

Voldemort held the gaze for a few seconds before he stepped back to the window, he turned so that he could look over the village where his mother was born. "Leave."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It was a fine summer afternoon, evening almost, it was warmer than it had been in years. A tall boy in his mid-teens was walking down the road towards a children's park. At this hour, it was almost empty so he entered through the kissing gate and walked towards a set of swings. He did not have many opportunities to enjoy the simple joys of childhood in his early years and this summer wasn't going any smoother either. He liked to just sit there and enjoy the serenity, he had developed a liking for solitude in open space but he loathed confined ones.

He sat on a swing, his toes touching the ground gently. His oversized jeans reaching almost up to his toes, he had grown six inches since last summer. The clothes Mrs. Weasley had altered last summer, Harry had grown out of most of them. Now, most of his clothing did not fit him, they were either too big or quite small, except one shirt which he was wearing right now. He had this shirt since he was eleven, he would never say this for any other piece of hand-me-down clothing he had but this one shirt he had grown to like and finally it fit him, the only shirt that did. It was his lucky shirt in a way, he was wearing it when he was first introduced to his world, the magical one. He was wearing it when he was rescued by his friends from his room after his twelfth birthday. It was this particular shirt he was wearing the day he blew up his aunt, that day he first saw his godfather. He was wearing it when he rescued his godfather from the tallest tower in the castle. There weren't many good memories from his last year, even if there were, they were blurred by the conclusion of the year.

He didn't want to think about it, his nightmares were enough to remind him of that. He wasn't having good and peaceful sleep this past month, he had woken up many times, usually screaming, in the dead of the night. His uncle wasn't happy about it and he had made sure Harry knew about it. Since then, Harry had started to sleep facedown.

Harry had become frustrated with his friends, he had expected better from them. He had received weekly correspondence from his friends but he was unable to respond as Hedwig was locked in his room. He wanted to tell them that he wasn't happy with their letters, they contained no information about what was happening in the wizarding world. He wasn't receiving Daily Prophet this summer and hence he was dependent on their letters for the information of their world. But all they had said to him was they were fine and they would get him out very soon. That's it. When would it be soon enough? He had expected more frequent letters from Hermione this summer, she had got her own owl this time and he was furious about her apparent silence. Errol was the delivery owl so Harry deduced that Hermione was with Ron, they were at the Burrow, enjoying the summer, without him.

Harry was angry, he was angry at too many things, people, situation. Arrgh, he was angry at everything nowadays. He could not show his anger in front of his relatives and there was no one else to be the punching bag. So, he would come here in the afternoons and burn away his anger and sorrows in the heat of the scorching sun.

He would sit there for an hour or two, watch children play or young kids interact with their mothers. He could not help but think about what the life would have been if he had his family with him. Their death was in vain as it is, the wizard they had tried to save him from, was back. So, all their deaths had given Harry were a few borrowed years of life, he was thankful for their sacrifice, no doubt, but he would have given up everything just to lay down by their side till eternity.

His train of thoughts was halted as the sound of laughter came from behind him. He turned his neck so to look over his shoulder but he had to turn completely as his fat cousin came into view, his band of five bullies, a step behind him.

"You should have looked at his face, it was white as paper." One of the five said, laughing at the statement.

"He wetted his pants, that's for sure." Another one continued, he gave a high-five to Dudley. Harry could not contain himself any longer. "Beaten up another 10-year-old, huh, Big D?"

"he deserved it, this one." The Fat boy answered.

"Very courageous of you, five vs one against a kid, huh, Duddykins." Harry said while giving a mocking clap.

"You are one to talk about courage, freak. At least I'm not afraid of my pillow." Dudley replied.

Harry did not reply, he just clenched his fist tightly. The gang howled, enjoying the trash talk, they could sense that Harry was going to lose his calm and they would get an opportunity to beat him to a pulp.

" 'Don't kill Cedric', who is Cedric, your boyfriend?" Dudley asked in a mocking childish voice. "He would kill me mum. At least I don't hide behind my mother's skirt." Dudley continued to mock him.

"Shut up, you swollen piece of fat." Harry shouted.

"Make me!"

"I will. Five vs one, afraid to fight me alone, Dud?" Harry baited, he was furious and now he wanted blood.

"Leave guys, I will see you tomorrow." Dudley told his gang which followed the command. There were some departing comments from his gangmates of various extents and severity.

"I will show you freak!" Dudley growled dangerously, he stepped towards Harry and before Harry could respond, a heavy fist collided with the side of his head, throwing him a few feet back. Harry straightened himself and lunged forward, he hit Dudley in the nose, drawing blood before he experienced another blow to his guts. He doubled over, his breathing dangerously irregular. He stood up again to face his childhood bully who was now standing a few feet away, holding his bleeding nose.

When Dudley noticed that Harry had regained his footings, he turned to face him again, his hands coming up as fists in front of his face in an offensive stance. He missed the next punch that he aimed at Harry's nose.

Harry's seeker reflexes now took over, he dodged one blow that came straight for his nose and his reply collided with the side of Dudley's neck. He fell down holding his neck, blood from his nose was everywhere on his body, giving him a gruesome look. Harry moved his hands away from his throat and tried to pump his chest to make the breathing even but before he could continue he felt something.

He felt the surroundings go colder and darker, the sunlight was now blocked by dark clouds, there was cold, chilling even, winds around them. He felt a feeling of dread inside his heart and mind. He realized what it was but he was shocked. Here, in Little Whinging, but how was that possible. He could not think any further as he felt an icy sensation on the back of his neck. He was afraid to turn but he had to check, he turned to face the most loathsome creatures of the wizarding world.

He was staring at the black cloak covered face of a dementor, the only part that wasn't covered was the hole where mouth should be. Before he could run or draw his wand, one of dementor's hand got hold of his right arm and the other lifted him of the ground from his neck. He tried to keep his mouth closed, he wanted to tell the same to Dudley but he was already on the ground, chocking, his mouth was already open and there was another dementor, doing its job.

Every bad memory of his life, every painful and sad experience of his life flashed in front of him. The feeling of hopelessness was creeping inside his conscience and he was about to give up, he was about to surrender. Any life would have been better than this, he thought. What would he be leaving behind, nobody cared, nobody would miss him.

Then the scene played in front of his eyes, the moment on the platform nine and three quarters, just before Hermione left him. "I will miss you", she said. "I will miss you too", he had told her. He would miss her and she would miss him too.

That feeling was enough to give him enough will power to punch the foul creature with his left hand. He was suddenly dropped on the cold hard ground and the dementor was coming back towards him even before he could stand up. He swiftly drew his wand from his back pocket and without any more thought, he shouted, ' _Expecto Patronum_ '.

A shining silver stag erupted out of the tip of his wand and galloped towards the creature. The dark creature was thrown away by the horns of misty guardian. Harry than redirected the Patronus towards Dudley, he was now worried that he might have already been kissed but he could not loose concentration now or Dudley would surely get kissed. A second later, the second dementor was pushed back by the ethereal defender. The surroundings started to return to its normal condition but stopped halfway between, it started to rain instead.

All his energy was drained, the side of his face and head was bruised and aching. His knees could not keep him standing any longer and he fell on the ground a moment later, unconscious.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

When he next opened his eyes, he was looking at a face he did not expect to come across. He tried to get up and stuff his wand back in his pocket, but the person stopped him from doing so by gripping his forearm.

"Keep your wand trained, it's still dangerous, dementors might still be lurking." She said in a shaky voice, her eyes darting in every direction. "Move quickly, we should hurry."

Harry was stunned to silence and did not try to ask any further questions, he had more pressing concerns at the moment. He looked around and found Dudley lying a few feet away, unconscious. Harry kneeled by his cousin and tried to wake him up but to no avail. Harry checked Dudley's watch, it wasn't very late. He blacked out for less than ten minutes, it seemed, Dudley's face was still wet with blood but the flow had stopped. His clothes weren't completely wet, that was another indication that his unconsciousness did not last very long and neither did the rain.

"Put him in the cart." The woman told him, pointing towards the shopping cart she was holding. It took Harry all his strength to get Dudley in the cart and even more to push it. once they were back on the road, Harry asked, "Mrs. Figg, how do you…."

"Dumbledore." She replied as if that answered everything. When nothing else came from her, Harry asked her again.

"Dumbledore told me that you could be thick sometimes but thinking that you would be left without any eyes on you, that is quite daft of you Harry." Harry would have felt embarrassed if it was not for the anger he was feeling at the moment for Dumbledore. He did not voice his feelings and within five minutes, they were back at Privet Drive.

"Stay inside, Harry. Somebody will contact you soon." She left Harry with the shopping cart with Dudley in it and walked towards her house. Harry pushed the cart and entered the Dursley Household. As he pushed the cart inside the living room, a loud shriek went up, the source being her aunt Petunia.

"Oh Dudley, what happened?" She ran towards her, question directed towards her nephew. Vernon came out of kitchen a moment later, holding a big jar of ice-cream.

"What did you do to my son?" Vernon shouted, taking a dangerous and potentially harmful step towards Harry.

"I did nothing. It was dementors, they attacked us." Harry answered. There was a gasp behind him, he turned to notice that it came from his aunt.

"Deme… Dementors? Those…. Those things are real?" She asked, in shock.

Harry just nodded, then a question came to his mind. "How do you know about them?" He found himself asking this question to his aunt.

"Your mother's friend, that freak boy with black mop of hair told about them." She answered, it looked like the words left a bad taste in her mouth. Harry did not make anything of that statement, he assumed she was talking about his father or Sirius may be. Harry would have rejoiced the fact that her aunt had told him something about his mother or rather the fact that she remembered about it.

"You turned my son into a freak? I would kill you." Vernon was about to get a hold of Harry's neck when an owl came flying from a window, towards Harry. Vernon jumped back in fear and landed on the couch.

Harry detached the envelope from the bird and the owl left immediately, leaving the occupants of the room in momentary silence which was broken by the letter itself. It transformed, similar to the howler and levitated in front of Harry, it looked like the face of a woman and started to speak in a female voice that sounded very official and no-nonsense type.

 _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _It has come to our notice that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty minutes past seven this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle. Due to the severity of your actions, under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with immediate effect._

 _Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of August._

 _Hoping you are well,_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _Improper Use of Magic Office_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Harry was stunned to silence, he just dropped on the chair behind him. His knees went weak in disbelief and shock, he missed the glee on the face of his uncle. He did not care about it right now anyways. He was just been kicked out of the one place he felt welcome and accepted, he felt like at home.

"You freak, by the time we return, I want you gone for good. Do you understand?" His uncle shouted, Harry could do nothing but nod. Vernon then turned towards his wife. "Come Petunia, we need to take Dudley to the hospital."

The Dursley couple walked out of the living room, Vernon pushing the cart in which his son was stuffed. A minute later, Harry could hear the ignition of the car engine. He remained seated in the chair, the letter of doom lying in his lap. His mind was too numb to form any useful thought. The house had gone silent as the Dursleys left. Harry was now afraid that may be Dudley got kissed and once again he was the reason. The silence was short lived as another owl flew in and dropped a similar looking envelope in Harry's lap. The same process repeated but the contents of this letter were different, quite different.

 _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _Further to our letter of approximately ten minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August, at which time an official decision will be taken._

 _Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school, pending further enquiries._

 _With best wishes,_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _Improper Use of Magic Office_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Harry jumped up from his seat and walked up to his room to retrieve his owl and his trunk so that he could leave this house. He stormed out of the house less than a minute later, his trunk pulled by one hand while he held his owl cage in the other. He had stuffed his invisibility cloak in his jacket and his wand in the side pocket of his trouser. Who knew when he would need them again. In his haste to leave, he missed the owl sitting on the dining table.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was walking down the Privet Drive, towards Magnolia Street where he was planning to take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron. But he heard something behind him, footsteps which were not his. He kept walking, a plan forming in his mind. He placed the owl cage on the trunk, without breaking his stride and put his free hand on the pocket that held his invisibility cloak. He saw that there was a turn a few feet away and he decided to take advantage of it. He increased his speed and took the turn. He abruptly stopped and covered himself with the cloak and stood in the middle of the footpath. The moment he felt someone come in his contact, he lunged forward, pinning the person down. His wand was in his hand, boring in to the heart of the person pinned down beneath him.

"I yield!" came a voice from under him. Harry removed his cloak before removing the cloak from his tail. The person was a woman with a beautiful heart shaped face, a small nose and hazel eyes. The most noticeable feature was her hair that were bubble-gum pink. There was a mischievous smile on that face but there was some fear in those eyes too.

Harry took a hold of her right arm and dug the wand in her throat, the person beneath him squeaked as the tip of his wand emitted a red spark. "Who are you?"

"A friend!" She answered, too quickly for Harry's liking. "I know Padfoot was innocent and it was Wormtail who betrayed your parents."

Harry did not release her yet, he wasn't going to take any chances. "Even Death Eaters know that. Now answer me, who are you?"

"I'm Tonks. You call Padfoot ' _Snuffles_ '." She answered truthfully, she was trying to keep her voice levelled.

This was something that very few people knew and none of them was going to leak this to any Death Eater. He released her and took a few steps away from her. He did not still lower his wand but he collected both the invisibility cloaks.

"What kind of name is 'Tonks'?" Harry asked.

"What kind of name is ' _Snuffles_ '. If you are done interrogating me, I would ask you to return to your aunt's house." She responded.

"I'm not going there again." Harry answered angrily, his voice rising a few decibels.

"You have to, you can't wander during night, it's dangerous." She countered.

"I am going to Leaky Cauldron and if you want me to return then make me." With that Harry raised his wand and in a moment, a blue triple-decker bus appeared out of nowhere.

"It was nice meeting you." Harry said while taking a hold of the bird cage and handing it to the bus conductor. Tonks gripped his trunk and pulled it away from him in an attempt to keep him on the ground.

"you can't leave without your luggage." She said, smirking.

"You can keep that, there is nothing important in it." Harry answered, he knew there were a few important things in that trunk, the marauder's map, his family tree that Hermione gifted him, his father's pocket watch. But he needed to show that he did not care.

"Are you coming or not?" the bus conductor asked.

"Coming." Harry answered and stepped on the bus.

"Wait!" Tonks shouted and stepped on the bus too. "It's better if I go with you, that would be less dangerous."

Harry agreed to that, he couldn't have just left his trunk with this stranger. He turned towards the conductor who was looking at them curiously. Harry had expected that he would come across Stan Shunpike but this one was not him unless Stan had put on twenty kilos and shortened a few inches. The bus took off, throwing both of them backwards on a metal bed. Harry gripped the side of the bed firmly.

"Where to?" the conductor asked, unperturbed by the movement of the vehicle.

"Leaky Cauldron for me, I don't know where she is headed." He said pointing towards her. "Where is Stan?"

"Now he does morning shifts. Drunken evening conductors are not good for business." The conductor answered flatly and handed Harry his ticket. "That would be 5 sickles."

Before Harry could pay, Tonks extended her hand ahead. "Here are ten sickles and make that two."

They were standing in front of the entrance to the old inn in less than 3 minutes. No words were shared between the two of them. Harry did not want to talk and Tonks did not want to talk in front of the conductor. As Harry was about to enter, Tonks stepped between him and the door.

"Harry, I would take you to Padfoot but you need to trust me." Tonks said, Harry could see the sincerity of that statement in her eyes.

"Okay." Harry answered after a few seconds of thinking. Tonks released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. She handed him the owl cage and asked him to release Hedwig. Harry did as he was told and handed her the empty cage, Hedwig was now perched on his right shoulder, she now looked quite happy to get a chance to flex her muscles and fly a bit. She took off a moment later. Tonks quickly reduced the trunk and cage and kept it in the pocket of her robes.

"Now that the luggage is taken care of, we could move freely."

"Wait, give me your wand. Don't want to be walking into a trap, do we?" Harry said with a smirk adorning his face.

"You want me at your mercy, huh, Potter! What's your plan? Want to poke me with your wand?" She replied with a wink, her eyebrows wiggling. Harry turned red with embarrassment as the implication of her statement settled in. He was stuttering in an attempt to give her a fitting reply.

"Just teasing you. Don't flatter yourself Harry, if I wanted to subdue you, you would have been on your knees in front of me." She answered laughingly and started to walk towards left.

They walked towards the nearest tube station and fifteen minutes later they were standing on a street that was lined with old rowhouses on one side and an unkempt park on the other side. But before going any further, Tonks turned towards Harry.

"Put on your cloak and stay where I tell you to." On Harry's affirmative nod, she started to walk along the street. They halted halfway down the street and Tonks asked Harry to stand on the other side of the road, near the gate to the park. Harry complied with that command and walked to the gate of the park, across the road. As he turned around, Tonks was nowhere to be seen. For a few seconds, nothing happened but then there was loud bang of door slamming and the next moment he saw Hermione standing across the road, her eyes searching for something or rather someone near the park entrance.

Harry did the only thing that came to him, he removed his cloak and draped it over his arm. A second later, his vision was blurred as Hermione came darted towards him like a torpedo and flung her arms around his neck. Before he could say anything, her lips were on his and his mind went in hibernation.

The kiss was urgent as if they wanted to reassure each other and themselves about the presence of the other. There was nothing sweet or chaste about that kiss, Hermione poured all her emotions in it, relief, elation, affection. Sometimes words weren't enough.

Harry could feel the tension leave her body as she melted in his arms, Merlin, he could not describe what he was feeling at the moment. But one thing was clear to him, he wanted this, he wanted to be with her. He felt safe with her, even though they were standing in the middle of the street, completely exposed to any harm and yet Harry felt safe. He tightened his grip on her waist and brought her closer, if that was even possible. Similar thoughts were going through her mind too, she felt safe in his warm embrace, he had returned to her and that was enough to make all her worries seem insignificant.

They would have loved it to continue till eternity but their need for oxygen concluded their activity quite quickly. They just stood there, their foreheads touching, their eyes closed, cherishing the closeness, cementing the moment in their memories.

"I missed you." Harry said, his voice felt weak, too weak for his liking.

"I missed you too." She replied, finally opening her eyes and looking in his emerald ones. She felt her knees goes weak under the affectionate intensity of his gaze but their bubble was burst by the clearing of throat coming from Harry's left.

"Aw, we missed you too Harry." The twins were standing there, their eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Shut up, you two." Ron said from Harry's other side.

"Aww, did Ickle Ronnikins missed him more?" One of the twins teased Ron, he could only scowl in response.

"Hey, Ron." Harry said while giving a bearhug to Ron, Ron patted his back in a brotherly manner. It seemed Ron had grown five-six inches in just a month.

"It's ok, if you missed me, I missed you too." Harry said, continuing the banter.

"You got some serious competition there, Hermione." The other twin commented.

"You can continue this inside, it's not safe to stay outside." Tonks said from behind the twins. "Read this and memorize it."

She handed him a small piece of parchment. It had one sentence written over it in a beautiful cursive writing that Harry recognized as Dumbledore's.

' _The Headquarters of Order of The Phoenix could be found at 12, Grimmauld Place, London._ '

"Now concentrate on what you just read Harry and look there while you do so." Tonks snatched back the piece once Harry had read it and she stuffed it in one of the pockets. She was pointing in the gap between #11 and #13. As Harry went through the words in the note, he saw a door appear where there was a small gap. Tonks recognized the look on Harry's face, the look of astonishment.

"Hurry up, get in, all of you, now!" Tonks commanded and they started to walk towards the old house in a single file without wasting anymore time. The corridor was narrow and dark, the only light was coming from the candles in the tall brackets on the wall. The walls looked old, the wallpaper was in various stages of decay. The house smelt like it has been a part of a swamp for years. As they walked ahead, Ron gestured Harry to stay silent. There was a door on the other end of corridor and parallel to the corridor was the staircase, near the door stood a large umbrella stand that looked like as if it was made of a troll's leg. Harry looked up towards the staircase, he counted that the house was three-storied. He was standing in front of the door when he heard a crashing sound.

"That piece of …." Tonks was on the floor, holding her leg, shouting obscenities but the majority of her words were drowned by the shouts that came from the wall behind Harry.

"YOU FILTHY MUDBLOODS, TRAITORS, YOU ARE RUINING THE PURITY OF THE MOST ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACKS. LEAVE, YOU VERMINS." The voice was coming from a portrait of some woman in her late forties. She had curly black hair, high cheekbones and an aristocratic look. At the moment, she looked furious, her nostrils were flared, her eyes were red with anger and by any chance if she was alive, she would have blown someone's head off.

"SHUT UP, WOMAN!" The next moment the painting was covered. Sirius stood there, in the doorway, his hand still on the portrait cover, a few people were standing behind him, he looked apologetic. A smile came to Harry's face but before Harry could move, he was engulfed in a Molly Weasley hug.

"Oh Harry, how are you? You have grown thin." Mrs. Weasley went on about Harry's physical conditioning, surveying him like a small pup.

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley." Harry answered, taking a step back.

"Hello Harry, it's good to see you." Arthur Weasley said while offering his hand. Harry exchanged the pleasantries and shook his hand. The next in line was Ginny and then Bill who also shook his hand. As Bill released his hand, Harry looked toward his godfather who hadn't moved an inch, he was looking at him with a look of relief and joy. Harry could not Hold himself back any longer, he moved ahead and threw his arms around Padfoot in a bearhug.

"Welcome home, pup." Sirius whispered in his year so that only he could hear it. Harry noticed that Remus was standing behind Sirius, leaning against the doorframe, a knowing smile on his face. "Sorry for the loud welcome you received from my mother."

"Oh, he already got a sweet one from Hermione!" One of the twins commented and in return received a sharp poke in the ribs from their mother with a warning, "George!"

"Harry would have received that jab if you had seen him outside, mother." The other twin said, winking at Hermione who tried to hide her blush.

When Sirius released Harry, Harry took another step ahead and hugged his ex-DADA professor. "Hello, Moony."

"Hey, Prongslet." Remus greeted him, one of his hand patting Harry on the head. "You had grown taller."

"If the welcoming is over, let's eat." Sirius said before entering through the door, Molly entered behind him.

"Thank Merlin, I'm starving." Ron complained. Hermione gave him a look of disbelief, "Oh really, Ronald? You just had the leftover pie from lunch."

"I need to eat, I am a growing boy." Ron replied before entering through the door, the twins followed with Bill and Arthur, Tonks went next, leaving Remus, Harry and Hermione in the corridor.

"You should freshen up before dinner. Hermione please show him the washroom." With that Remus left the quasi-official couple in the corridor to join the remaining party to dine.

Hermione led him to the washroom, she entered before Harry did and she locked the door behind him. She was leaning against the bathroom door while he stood in front of her. She did not waste any time in drawing him in another of her warm and possessive hug, her right hand slowly moving in his hair, her nails gently massaging his scalp. "Don't ever do that again!"

"What?" Harry asked innocently, he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Breaking up with me." She answered, her gaze cold and unyielding.

"Hermione…." Harry started but he was cut off mid-sentence. "No Harry, you listen to me and listen carefully. We are not breaking up again for your perceived sense of responsibility and guilt regarding my safety."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Why don't you understand Harry, we are in this together. You think I'm in danger because I am with you, I wouldn't leave your side even if we weren't together Harry. Besides, I'm a muggleborn and the purebloods already spite me for that, me dragging their noses in dirt for besting them in studies hadn't helped the situation either. So, you get this in your thick head that I am not going anywhere."

"I am angry with you." Harry replied, not meeting her gaze now. He placed both hands on the door behind her, on either side of her head; he punched the door with his right one.

"I'm angry with you too. So, what can we do." Hermione replied and turned his head by his chin so that she could look in his eyes.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Hermione. Least of all, because of me." A few tears were flowing down his cheeks now. "Dudley almost got kissed by a dementor today, just because he was there. Cedric died because he was there with me. I can't let that happen to you."

"You are wrong, Harry. When we arrived here, Dumbledore told all of us about Barty Crouch's confession. You-Know-Who needed a magically strong body for his resurrection. So, Barty Crouch picked Krum and imperiused him, he was to accompany you to the graveyard but when Cedric bested him, Crouch imperiused Cedric to accompany you. He would have accompanied you with or without your agreement or suggestion."

Harry was shocked, this was news to him. He wasn't conscious when this confession took place and hence he knew nothing about it. "There are many things Harry that you don't know. I would have told you about them after dinner."

"Can we please go and have a peaceful dinner where you are not trying to breakup with me for feeling guilty for something that Barty Crouch did, hmm?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Harry just nodded meekly and rested his forehead against her. Things wouldn't have been this bad, he wouldn't have felt this guilty if he had known about the confession but right now was not the time to think about those things.

"Freshen up, I will be waiting outside." With those words, Hermione left him in the bathroom and closed the door. She waited for him outside the door and she did not need to wait for long as Harry came out within five minutes. They walked back to the corridor, the door led to the living room. It was spacious, square-shaped and windowless. There was a big fireplace on the opposite wall. Above the fireplace hung a big emerald coloured velvet covered plaque, in the centre of the plaque was a coiled snake in the shape of ' _B_ ', below which was a phrase carved with bronze ' _Toujours Pur_ '.

"That's Black Family crest, Sirius told us." Hermione answered the unasked question. "Come, the dining hall is this way."

She led him down a flight of stairs on the left that opened in a long, rectangular room, half of which was occupied by a long wooden dinner table, the other half was furnished as kitchen. There was a door on the other end, that must have been the pantry.

On the head's position was Sirius, on his right sat Remus while the seats on his left were occupied by the twins who were in a hushed discussion with Sirius and Remus. Ginny sat next to the twins and beside her was Tonks. On the other side of the table, Bill was occupying the seat next to Remus, Arthur was next while Ron sat adjacent to him. Hermione went and sat on that side, leaving a seat for Harry between herself and Ron.

"Good evening lad, you look fine for someone attacked by a dementor." A gruff voice said from the seat opposite to Sirius. It took a moment for Harry to realize that it was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody.

"Good evening, professor." Harry responded, masking his surprise really well.

"Not your professor, never was. Mad-Eye would do." He answered, still not looking up from his bowl of soup. Harry did not comment on it and took his seat between Hermione and Ron. The rest of them had started with their meals so when he finally settled on the table, he was served a plate filled with mashed potatoes, chicken, beans and bread by Mrs. Weasley. It seemed that she had taken over the kitchen here too, whatever here was.

"Why did you cut your hair short?" Harry asked to Hermione, she had cut her hair so that they now barely reached her shoulder.

"It's O.W.L. year, Harry, don't want to waste my time battling my hair." She answered but her eyes told him that there was some regret about this decision. "You don't like it?"

"You always look beautiful Hermione." Harry answered truthfully.

"Aw, the puppy love. You two are cute." Tonks commented, there was a giggle from Ginny but Harry ignored that because Tonks's hair had turned light purple and it amazed Harry. He first thought that it might be the trick of light but the only light in the room was due to the candles and the fireplace in the kitchen part.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked her.

"What?"

"Your hair, they were pink but now..." Harry could not complete his sentence, Tonks changed her hair back to bubble-gum pink.

"She is a metamorphmagus, Harry." Hermione answered as if that explained everything.

"A what?" Harry asked.

"A metamorphmagus, they can change their physical appearance at will. It's an inherent trait." Hermione explained.

"Inherent?" Harry asked.

"You can't learn it, I was born with it." Tonks answered and transformed her face to look like Harry, Hermione gasped at that, her fork falling on the ground.

"Stop showing off, Nymphadora." Moody growled from his place.

"Don't call me that." Tonks replied angrily.

"What's Nymphadora?" Harry asked.

Tonks took a deep breath to compose herself. "It's my name, as if my mother wanted to take revenge for troubling her for nine months."

"You must have been a cry baby and ruined their sleep." One of the twins commented and received a light slap on the back of his head from his mother. "That could have been a real possibility, mother."

"It's a beautiful name." Remus said, his face showed the genuineness of his words.

"Thanks, Wolfie." Tonks replied before turning back to face Harry. "You better call me Tonks."

"What's wrong with Dora?" Harry asked.

"That's reserved for the dog of an uncle of mine." She replied.

"Padfoot is your uncle?" Harry asked Tonks and turned towards Sirius when she nodded. "You never told me you had a niece. What else you haven't told me Sirius?"

Harry did not realize but his voice had grown too loud, halting all other conversation and eating. Sirius looked concerned, his brows were creased, his eyes fixed at Harry. He took a deep breath before leaning in, his elbows were now on the table.

"Calm down, Harry." Sirius replied calmly, the calmness did not suit him one bit. "We will talk about it after dinner."

"No Sirius, I have waited long enough, a month to be precise. Were you too busy to write to me? No word, no news, nothing, nothing at all." Harry could not stop himself, there was too much anger inside him. He continued when Sirius did not reply.

"I came to know that you were spying on me with Mrs. Figg and then you sent Tonks to follow me. Tell me, how long you have been doing that?" Harry did not realize it at first but he had stood up between his tirade, his hands clenched in tight fists, his eyes boring into Sirius.

"Sit down, lad. You don't know a thing." Mad-Eye growled.

"Dumbledore explained that you need to stay away from all this, it was for your own safety." Molly answered but Harry did not even spare her a look when Sirius scoffed at that answer.

"Why would he want to keep me away, I was the only one who had seen him return, I was the one who fought him, I was the one who saw Cedric die." He was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he slammed his fist on the table and rested his hands there.

Hermione slowly stood up, she slid her hand over his fisted one and unclenched it gently before entwining her fingers with his. Everyone missed the look that came over Mrs. Weasley's face, the look of disapproval. Hermione moved her face so it was merely a couple of inches away from Harry's ear, "calm down, Harry."

Sirius also stood up, more slowly than Harry did. It seemed that his energy was drained, as if he had just fought a battle, an internal one, with his conscience. "Keep your luggage in Regulus's room and come to mine. I would explain everything then."

"No, you won't." Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"What?" Sirius asked, a look of disbelief and anger coming over him.

"He would stay with Ron and you won't tell him anything about it. Not without Dumbledore's permission. He is not your son, Mr. Black."

Sirius punched the table with full force, disturbing the cutlery. Mrs. Weasley flinched at his reaction and took a step back unconsciously. "Neither he is yours or Dumbledore's. I am his godfather and I don't need anyone's permission to talk to him. You don't get to decide what he does or doesn't, he is my responsibility and I would take care of it."

"Like you did last time." Mrs. Weasley realized that that was the wrong thing to say as Sirius suddenly turned in his place, sending the chair to the ground. His eyes were now bloodshot with anger, Mrs. Weasley paled as she looked at him. Years of Azkaban stay does not make you soft at core.

"How dare you?" Sirius growled like a predator.

Before things could go any worse, Arthur and Remus stepped in. Remus put his hand on Sirius's shoulder in an attempt to stop him from doing something stupid. Arthur went and stood next to his wife, he was half turned towards his wife. "We need to behave like civilized people. Calm down, Sirius, I apologize to you."

"Arthur!" Molly gasped but he told her to remain silent with a shake of his head. By this time everyone was on their feet, except Mad-Eye, unsure how to act. Bill and Tonks were ready to intervene if need be; the twins, Ginny and Ron looked shaken.

The pleasant gathering had turned sour in matter of a few minutes, leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth, nullifying their appetites.

The tension was somewhat released when they heard a loud laugh coming from Moody. Moody rose from his chair and walked out of the kitchen/dining room, shaking his all the way.

"I think we should go up." Remus said, he turned towards Harry and Hermione when Sirius gave him a curt nod. "Tonks, please take Harry's luggage to Regulus's room. Bill, would you please take Ginny to her room. Fred-George, to your room. Harry, Hermione, Ron, to Sirius's study, now."

The twins disapparated from the kitchen, Tonks walked out of the kitchen with Bill and Ginny. Harry, Hermione and Ron followed the trail, leaving only Remus and Sirius with the Weasley couple.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

The trio walked up to the second floor, couple of steps behind Tonks, in silence. Tonks stopped in front of the first door on the right side. The door was pitch black, there was a polished bronze plaque on it with an artistically written name over it in silver, ' _Regulus Arcturus Black_ '. Another plaque hung just above this one, this one wasn't bronze nor it was polished. It was made by someone who must have failed at carpentry. ' _Do not enter without the express permission of_ ' written over it. The complete message was:

 ** _Do Not Enter_**

 ** _Without the Express Permission Of_**

 ** _Regulus Arcturus Black_**

"This would be your room." Tonks said before opening the door, Harry entered behind her, Hermione and Ron following him. The room wasn't very large but it looked spacious. There was a king-sized four-poster of black polished wood in it with silver hangings and emerald bedspread and covers. The bed was bracketed by side tables, one was barren while the other had a framed photograph and an alarm clock. The room had a desk and chair, both made of polished black wood, on one side of the room, a tall bookshelf next to it. The shelf was half-filled with books, the other half had a few items that belonged to a teenage boy. There were a couple of quidditch player figurine, a model of flying broomstick, a snitch, a few framed photographs.

On the opposite side of the desk was a wardrobe, made of the same material, it was big enough that Ron could stand in and there would still be a few inches above his head. The room had a window on the opposite wall of the bed, that opened in the backyard. Near the window stood two comfortable-looking armchairs with high back, their rich leather was as dark as the wallpaper of the room.

The room was covered in wallpaper of Slytherin colours, there were a couple of Slytherin flags pinned on the wall in cross pattern, a quidditch poster was pasted to another wall of a team that Harry knew nothing about. The room surely belonged to a Slytherin teenaged wizard who loved quidditch.

The room was in pristine condition, no trace of dirt, it seemed that it was regularly cleaned. Tonks pulled out his luggage and enlarged it, she placed the trunk at the foot of the bed and the cage on top of it. She left the trio in the room without any more words. The trio exited the room and walked up to the one at the end of the corridor. There was no plaque over it but the door had a scratch mark over it, the scratch was in the shape of _SB._ Opposite to this, was the room they were supposed to go to, Sirius's study.

It was Ron who opened the door and entered first. The study was as big as Regulus's room, there was a desk on the right side of the room, a tall window behind it that nearly touched the ceiling. The left wall of the room was completely covered, half of it by bookshelf, the other half by cabinets and showcases. On the wall, opposite to the entrance was a fireplace, in front of it was a two-seater couch with a coffee table, bracketed by two armchairs. Above the fireplace was a painting of some wizard, quite old, with a face full of wrinkles. He exited the painting when they entered.

The room had the aura of authority, it spelled that it meant business to be here. Harry walked up to the showcase, surveying the contents while Hermione went over to the bookshelf, Ron went to one of the side chairs and made himself comfortable. The trio did not need to wait very long, Sirius, followed by Remus, entered the room not more than five minutes later.

"Sorry you had to witness that." Remus spoke first, he leaned against the bookshelf. Sirius went to the chair behind the desk and flopped down, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"What happened down there?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourselves about." Remus answered before turning to look at Sirius, "am I right, Sirius?"

"Yeah." He answered unconvincingly. He then turned to look at his godson, "now we can talk".

A/N: This chapter and the next two would clear things up to quite some extent as to what I am planning on doing. I hope you like it.


	20. B2: Chapter 20 - Last One Month

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: I hope you guys liked the story so far. This chapter will explain what has happened in the last month. This chapter and the next chapter (maybe two) would put the story on the right track which would determine the path.

Please Review

 **Chapter Twenty: Last one Month**

 _…. "Now we can talk."_

Harry took the armchair on the other side of the table and Hermione took the second one. Ron remained seated in his chair by the fireplace but turned so that he could face the other occupants of the room. Remus did not move from his place either, he stood leaning against the bookshelf, his arms folded in front of him, his eyes on Sirius.

"Go on, I know you have questions, a lot of them. Ask away." Sirius said in a fake upbeat manner which did not deceive anyone.

"What's wrong, Sirius? What happened down there?" Harry asked, very much concerned about the situation.

Sirius took a deep breath and sighed, "long story, Harry. In short, Molly doesn't trust me. She is quite judgemental, always have been and sorry Ron but that's the reality."

Ron gave a curt nod, no other expression on his face but his reddening ears gave away what his real reaction was or would have been. When he didn't say anything, Sirius continued. "She is not fond of me and the charms of this old dog doesn't work on her so I think it would be some time before she starts to accept me. Anyway, that's between me and her and I would like to keep it that way."

Harry gave a nod of understanding, a small smile coming to his face. He wanted to move away from this topic so he asked, "what is this place?"

"This…." Sirius opened his arm as if introducing them to the place. "….is my ancestral home, 12 Grimmauld Place. And before you ask, I hate this place."

"Then why aren't you at the cottage if you hate this place?" Harry asked, confusion clear in his voice.

"This place is now the headquarters of Order of the Phoenix. It's a secret society, formed by Dumbledore to counter the Death Eaters, he formed it eighteen years back, the year we graduated, on Halloween." His features turned morose with that thought, Halloween will always be a sore point him. "So, when he asked me to use this house as Order headquarters, I did not refuse. That is the only good thing this house has witnessed. The house is unplottable, there are very powerful wards to keep muggles at an arm's distance. We put this under a _Fidelius_ , Dumbledore is the secret-keeper."

"Weasley's are part of it?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"We are, we were there last time too." Ron answered from his seat, "I mean, my parents were, since the beginning."

"So, what were you doing this past month and why didn't you tell me anything? I would have helped." Harry said, his tone more pleading than he would have wanted it to be anywhere else but here he need not worry about it. "What was Voldemort doing this past month?"

"Nothing, at least nothing directly. He is in hiding, pulling strings from behind the curtains. It's his followers, most of the traditionalist have made some kind of an alliance. Malfoy is heading that group from outside the Wizengamot, he is brewing quite some trouble for us."

"What's Wizengamot? And don't people understand that something is wrong and he is back?" Harry asked, disbelieving his ears.

"Wizengamot is amalgamation of Wizard High Court and Parliament, Harry and no, people don't know that he is back. Fudge has been putting all his efforts to control the news right now." Remus answered and walked up to stand by the table, leaning against the furniture, looking at Harry.

"How did Dumbledore let that happen? I bet Skeeter is in Fudge's pocket." Harry asked to Remus.

"No, she isn't." Hermione answered flatly.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Harry asked without wasting even a fraction of a second.

"Because she is in the attic, Kreacher is making sure that she stays there." Hermione answered, her gaze on Harry, a smirk on her face.

"Which creature? You still have her, here? You kidnapped her?" Harry asked, his eyes going wide at that thought. "Who are you and what did you do to Hermione Granger?" Harry asked and Hermione blushed, the comment made Ron chuckle.

"Well, I didn't want to release her without assurance but before I could accomplish that, we arrived here and she was with me when I portkeyed and now she has access to the wards and the Fidelius and she knows that Sirius is here and we all know about his whereabouts. So now we can't let her go. And Kreacher…." She did not answer and turned towards Sirius.

"Kreacher is my house-elf, he is quite repulsive. Solitude had turned him soft in head." When he noticed that Hermione was about to say something, he continued, "And for the last time Hermione, I'm not freeing him. We have had this discussion multiple times and besides he knows too much."

That stopped all the future questions from Hermione in this regard. She just huffed and folded her arms in the gesture of defiance. "It's not over yet."

"Who all knows about her?" Harry asked to Hermione.

"We four, now five; the twins and Tonks also know so does Kreacher; Dumbledore and Moody. In total, 11 of us." Hermione replied.

"How did you keep it from Mrs. Weasley?" Harry was shocked that she was yet to find out. "And for that matter, from others?"

"We were able to convince Dumbledore to put a _Confundus_ charm on the attic door, with some exceptions. Unless someone tells anyone or they drag him beyond the charm line, they would know." It was Ron who answered it for Harry.

"Anyway, let's get back to our discussion. I told Dumbledore that it was a bad idea to block your Daily Prophet supply and even worse to keep you uninformed in our correspondence." Sirius continued, as if nothing was spoken between him and Hermione.

"You didn't send me one letter and why would you block my subscription?" Harry asked, with every revelation and realization, he was inching closer to losing his temper.

"There were too many things happening Harry and Dumbledore explained that it would do no good to trouble you with them. You needed some peace of mind." Remus answered, genuine concern for him was clear in his eyes.

"What too many things?" Harry asked, turning back towards Sirius. "What's wrong, Sirius?"

"After you people returned from school, Dumbledore was trying to talk some sense into Fudge but he refused to listen and their relationship strained. On July 1, Dumbledore gave a speech in Wizengamot, he told the Wizarding Britain that Voldemort was back. The very next day he had a private meeting with Cornelius Fudge, his Senior Undersecretary and Constantine Ogden. Ogden had been Dumbledore's political rival for more than five decades and his grandson is married to Lucius's younger sister. Constantine Ogden leads Lucius's block in Wizengamot and he has good grip on the members. The morning of the meeting, Daily Prophet ran a story discrediting you and Dumbledore. Dumbledore's speech the day before shifted to the fourth page. Ogden, Fudge and Lucius were able to outfox Dumbledore, could you believe that, they did something that Dumbledore didn't anticipate one bit."

"In one week, since his return, they bribed many members, threatened a few and told the remaining Voldemort supporters about what was going on. By the time of the meeting, they had the signature of more than half the Wizengamot on the letter that said that Wizengamot had voted out Dumbledore as Britain's representative to the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip. That resulted in Dumbledore losing his place as Chairman for the time being. Dumbledore was later able to do the damage-control, they are keeping the post empty. His deputy would act in his place until the situation here gets under control. Fudge thinks or as we believe Lucius has convinced him that Dumbledore is behind his chair and hence he is trying to destabilize his administration."

"But that's stupid. Why would anybody think that in their right state of mind?" Harry asked, he was completely baffled by what was happening.

"And you are right, Harry. Nobody in their right state of mind would think that about Dumbledore. But Fudge is not thinking straight, he is blinded by power and greed; he is afraid of losing his position. All his actions are influenced by that fear. Harry, the Minister of Magic is given seven-year term, he is appointed by Wizengamot. Fudge became the Minister about one and half years after the fall of Voldemort. He is worried that Dumbledore wants to oust him and usurp himself as the Minister in the next Ministerial election." Remus answered it for him.

"And I wish that was it but the meeting took a turn for worse." Sirius commented.

"How could anything be worse than that?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you have no idea." Ron was the one to answer.

"Dumbledore wasn't upset about being removed but he was upset about you being discredited. He wanted to show Barty Crouch Jr's confession so that the situation can be resolved then and there but Ogden said that it was futile to listen to the words of an Azkaban escapee psychopath. Dumbledore, in his vast knowledge and experience missed some very important things. He admitted himself when he told about this fiasco. Neither Dumbledore nor Barty Crouch Jr was in the graveyard, his confession of sending you there could be accepted but what happened in the graveyard had no witnesses except the people present there, namely you, Wormtail, Voldemort and Cedric. But according to the Minister and the wizarding world, Wormtail and Voldemort both are dead. That leaves you and Cedric and we do not want this to be highlighted."

"But why? I could testify with Veritaserum or I could show my memories. And I wasn't alone there, the Death Eaters were there, they can be questioned."

"I wish things were that simple Harry. I would try to explain this to you as clearly as possible otherwise Hermione would help you with it, I'm sure. First, you are underage so your testimony will not be considered inside Wizengamot. Veritaserum can't be administered on underage wizard so that is out of question. Your memories can not be accepted as they can be manipulated. Second, you can call only those witnesses who agree to testify for you, if you call a witness and they refuse to testify, you can't do anything about it. If you somehow get your testimony on record, the Wizengamot is going to vote on it and that is a conclusion we don't want you heading towards to. Besides, there was no body so there is no proof of Cedric's death. Fudge wanted to put the blame of his murder and disposing of his body on you. He wanted you in Azkaban for something that you hadn't done." Sirius stopped at that, the words stung pretty badly. The situation was very similar to his, this was the first time he noticed this similarity.

"All the members of the Order were there when Dumbledore told about this. We were brainstorming for hours to find one loophole in all this. Anything remotely helpful but we came out emptyhanded. We thought that your wand could be examined for past spells but it turns out we are not in the possession of Cedric's wand which you could have used in 'murdering' him. The tournament trophy had the trace of the portkey and on the place where it led had very strong lingering trace of dark magic which could have been due to a murder. There was no other trace present, no signs of any ritual taking place, nothing." Remus continued the explanation from the point where Sirius had stopped.

"So according to Dumbledore, Fudge got you in a very tight position. To stop him from pressing charges against you, Dumbledore had to negotiate a truce. Dumbledore would resign as the Chief Warlock of Wizengamot with immediate effect and in return, they will not bring charges against you and there will be no character assassination of yours. But Dumbledore's name is still being dragged through mud on daily basis and there are few mentions of you but you have been kept safe." Sirius completed the retelling of the meeting. It looked like all his energy, every bit of it, was drained out of him.

"So, nobody supported him, not after the speech, not even after he was voted out of ICW. He resigned and nobody asked a question?" Harry asked, all colour gone from his face.

"There was support a lot of it, some old friends of Dumbledore inside the Ministry, who were on our side last time supported him. To tackle this, one of Ogden's lackey brought a bill to restructure the Ministry. There was quite an uproar about it, many department heads or directors, who weren't in with Minister, opposed the move but Wizengamot passed the bill and they restructured the Ministry. Earlier, directors were directly under Minister but now they elevated the post of Senior Undersecretary. Senior Undersecretary is now superior to the directors and answerable only to Minister himself. Also, Senior Undersecretary now has the authority to issue executive orders, earlier only Minister and Chief Warlock had the authority. Every Director has to get their decisions approved by Senior Undersecretary who would countersign it on the approval of Minister." Sirius answered truthfully.

"So that's it, Fudge is trying to make himself a dictator, hording all the power?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry. The ministry is still answerable to Wizengamot, they would need 2/3 majority vote in Wizengamot to amend that law. For the moment, we are safe from dictatorship. Well that is until Voldemort resurfaces." Sirius chuckled dryly, no mirth in it.

"And what is this Order doing?"

"Gathering information, keeping tabs, monitoring alleged and known Death Eaters, guarding duties." Sirius answered offhandedly.

"What are you guarding?" Harry asked, his ears perking at that statement. "I'm already here. And if you call Tonks a guard, I hope whatever you are guarding is behind a ten-foot-thick wall."

"She wasn't your guard, Harry. The actual one left without notice." Whatever life was in his eyes started to evaporated with his words. "We have been guarding something important, something that we know Voldemort did not have last time."

"Sirius!" Remus warned him, his voice low but cold.

"What? Like a weapon?" Harry asked, looking between his two 'uncles'.

"We believe that Voldemort is pursuing something devotedly and we are trying our best to prevent him from getting it." Sirius answered but did not elaborate on it.

"What are we planning to do now?" Harry asked.

It was Hermione who answered him. "We contacted Neville, Susan and Hannah after this fiasco. Neville's grandmother, Susan's aunt and Hannah's father are members of Wizengamot. Mr. Diggory is also a part of Wizengamot and for the time being, so is Dumbledore. They were able to push the Wizengamot to initiate an investigation in the disappearance of Cedric and Hestia Jones is assigned as the investigating officer. She is a member of the Order."

Harry did not reply, he just nodded. When Harry did not say anything for the next few seconds, Remus continued. "Susan's aunt and Neville's grandmother know about the Order but neither of them is part of it and Dumbledore is uncertain about involving them. Hannah's father knows nothing about the Order and he was reluctant to support us, he does not trust your story. But he relented because of Diggorys, Mr. Abbot and Mr. Diggory are old family friends."

"Dumbledore have a few friends loyal to him and they were able to do some damage control. We haven't yet let the situation go to extreme, we just somehow stopped the situation from diving from the cliff." Sirius told him, some relief present in his demeanour. "All in all, before your date with dementors, we had lost the Chairmanship of ICW, position of Chief Warlock in Wizengamot and in return, we were able to keep you out of prison. I believe that's a positive deal."

"Hah, really positive Padfoot, cause of celebration it is, don't you think?" Harry responded.

"Listen to me, Harry, you are more important, to all of us. If I had to surrender to keep you out of that hell, I would have done it without a second thought. You are the hope of the future, Harry. We can't have you locked up in Azkaban." Harry understood the sincerity of that proclamation. Hermione put her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Harry turned to look at her, a smile coming over his features.

"What are you planning to do with Skeeter?"

"We are at an impasse with Dumbledore on that front and now I am unsure about what I had in my mind." She stopped her answer and looked at Ron, urging him to continue. "She has got dirt on many people, Harry and we could use those pieces of information to bargain the next time we find ourselves in a tight spot. Dumbledore thinks it is unethical, criminal even. He said that we will release her once things get settled down a bit and she agrees to an unbreakable vow. She hasn't agreed to it in the past month."

"What's an unbreakable vow?" Harry asked.

"It's a vow that can't be broken." Ron answered. Harry could not stop himself from commenting, "any first year could have told me that much, Ron."

"You don't get it, you can't break it because if you do, you die." Ron replied, his ears turning red.

"Got it. I wonder why she hasn't agreed to it yet!" Harry responded, the concept of someone losing their life for going against their word was alien to him.

"Many in the Order would agree with the idea of extracting information but they won't stand against Dumbledore so we are stuck with an uninvited guest for the foreseeable future." Remus responded.

For the next couple of minutes no one spoke, a silence fell on the room but it did not last. Harry still had a lot of questions and he wasn't going to keep them buried for future.

"Was there anything in Barty Crouch's confession or my memories of the graveyard that could help us?"

"There were a few things in his confession, how he escaped, what he did afterwards and so on but nothing critical. But your memories of the graveyard were important in our response afterwards. Voldemort was boasting in front of you and gave a detailed run-through of his plan. The ritual he performed was some variant of a reanimation ritual, understandably very dark in nature. Dumbledore recognized the runes Wormtail made on Cedric's body, they were similar to the ones used in Inferi creation. He was able to understand the components of the ritual Voldemort used for resurrection. But he said that he did not have enough information to relate to." Sirius stopped that, Harry's lips were pursed, his eyes on the intertwined fingers of his and Hermione.

"I think that is enough information for one night, Harry had a long day and it would do him good to have some much-needed sleep." Remus stopped the discussion before another question could be asked. "You three, off to bed now, good night."

Remus went to the door and opened it, the trio walked out of the room. As they stood in front of the door to Regulus's room, now Harry's, Hermione's hand was on the doorknob. She did not open it, her eyes on Ron, her gaze questioning.

"What?" Ron asked innocently.

"Please don't mind Ron but can you leave us alone for some time?" Hermione asked him in a sweet voice.

"You don't have to be shy in front of me guys, I know what you are going to do inside the room." Ron replied, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Ron!" She punched him in the arm. "We are just going to talk."

"Really?" When she gave him a look that could kill, he relented his teasing. "Okay, I will leave you two to it. Good night, guys."

Ron turned and started to walk down the stairs. "Got my own room, now I need to get a girlfriend."

That made Harry chuckle and Hermione to grumble under her breath. They did not wait to get inside the room any longer and Hermione locked the room from inside.

"You look anxious, what's on your mind?" Harry asked, he placed his trunk on the bed and started to unpack. There wasn't much to unpack anyway.

"Harry, please don't get me wrong but why did you leave when we send Errol to give you the letter. It wasn't safe for you to leave that house, Order was planning to get you out of there." Hermione asked, her emotions were mixed, she wanted him out of there but she did not want him to be in danger. That stopped Harry's unpacking which had barely started.

"Errol wasn't there, Hermione." Harry answered and turned towards her.

"Harry we sent him the moment we got the news and Dumbledore left to talk with Fudge. There was an Order meeting going and one of the auror members got the tip. I believe Errol would have reached Privet Drive by the time you left." She replied, her voice getting dry.

"What does it matter now, Hermione? Aren't you happy to see me, have me here?" Harry asked, very much confused about her line of questioning.

"Do you really need a proof to know if I am happy to have you back or not?" Hermione's voice was louder than she wanted it to be, unable to understand how Harry reached that conclusion. "Harry, it wasn't safe out there, you must realize that. You were on thin ice already with the ministry, what if you had come across something else on your way here? Even if you were able to fend off the danger, you would have been in more trouble with the Ministry."

"I really don't care what Ministry thinks about me, Hermione. I needed to get out of there." Harry replied before taking a step closer to her, she was leaning against the pole of the four-poster.

"You can't be reckless, Harry, not when he is out there. Why can't you understand Harry that we worry about you and your every action affect us too." She slowly slid her arms over his shoulder, her fingers interlocked behind his neck. Harry moved his arms to snake around her waist and slowly brought her closer. "That's what I do, Hermione, I act reckless and enjoy watching you get worried over me."

That cheek earned him a punch in the shoulder from her. "Ouch, Hermione, it hurt."

"It will hurt more if you tried to do something stupid again." She replied, her nostrils flared. Harry just nodded before resting his forehead over hers.

"It was suffocating there, Hermione. Then Vernon told me that I should be gone for good before he returned. How could I refuse such an opportunity, Hermione?"

"Where would you have gone, Harry? You didn't know about this place before today and Burrow was empty, well except for Winky." She was looking into his emerald eyes, she was lost in their depths and she liked it that way.

"I was going to Leaky Cauldron, I would have contacted you, Sirius and Dumbledore from there." He answered and closed his eyes, "I will try to be more careful, okay?"

"Mm Hmm." She answered, she had closed her eyes too, this was too comfortable and relaxing, the warmth of his embrace, the feel of being with him, close to him. Their bubble of peace was burst by opening of the door.

In the threshold stood a very old looking elf, the patch of hair on his head was completely silver, the bat like ears were hanging limply. His skin was very wrinkly, a toga wrapped around his frail looking body, his long and pointy nose scrunched. "The enemy of the Dark Lord and the Mudblood in master Reggie's room, what would master and mistress think of Kreacher. Dirtying my master's room!"

"Leave Kreacher, now!" Sirius was standing a few feet away from the door. He was angry and disgusted with the elf as if his presence was enough to make him dirty.

"As traitor master says!" The elf bowed slightly and walked away slowly.

"Sorry for his interruption, he is very sour." Sirius told Harry. "I hope you are not planning to remain in his room tonight, Hermione. You know I can't be that lenient."

Hermione turned red with embarrassment and so did Harry, they dropped their hands and took one step back, each. They were looking at their feet now, unable to form any coherent thought.

"Hermione, I want to talk to him alone, if you don't mind." Sirius asked her politely but the words were not a request. She nodded and turned to wish Harry goodnight before leaving. She just gave him a peck on cheek and left with a smile.

Sirius locked the door once Hermione was out of the room. He walked up to Harry's trunk, he scrunched his nose at what he saw inside it. He started to throw the clothes on the floor which he did not consider good enough for, which was almost everything. By the end of his cleaning spree, the only articles of clothing that remained in the trunk were the formal robes Harry wore to Yule Ball, his Hogwarts uniform, the quidditch jersey from his third-year, couple of Weasley jumpers and the dragonhide vest.

"Kreacher!" the elf appeared out of thin air with a snap. "Take those away and burn them."

The elf left to follow the orders with another snapping sound, leaving Sirius and Harry alone. Sirius did not wait to give any explanation and walked to the wardrobe and opened it to survey the contents. The wardrobe was stuffed with assortment of various clothing. There were robes, slacks, shirts, formal robes, cloaks, enough clothes to dress Harry thirty times over. "I believe you can use it, most of them are Slytherin coloured or with Black crest but we can make do with them."

He pulled a set of robes and handed them to Harry, "try them, they should fit."

Harry did not move, he remained standing in place, the robe in his hand. "Oh, you can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I am Sirius!" Sirius replied, smiling at his own little joke. "I have seen you naked Harry, after your parents, I was the first one to hold you. I will close my eyes if you feel shy."

Sirius closed his eyes while Harry tried the robe, luckily it wasn't very loose. Sirius opened his eyes and surveyed him, he gave satisfied nod. "You should check in the wardrobe, there might be some clothes of your size."

"Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Hmm."

"Who was Regulus?" The question made Sirius flinch a bit, he recovered quickly but a sombre expression remained on his face. "He was my younger brother, Harry, favourite to my parents."

"What happened to him?" Harry could not stop himself from asking.

"He was killed a few weeks after you were born." Sirius stepped away from Harry and moved closer to the shelf where the photographs were. "He was the obedient son, the better son and he did what was expected of him as a Black."

Harry watched Sirius pick a photo frame and watch it with regret. "He was a Death Eater, he joined just after his seventeenth birthday and got himself killed a few days after his eighteenth. Some say that he was killed by Voldemort himself but he wasn't special enough to be killed by him, most likely he was killed on his orders."

"Why would he order to kill one of his followers?" Harry asked, it was difficult to accept that his brother was a Death Eater.

"That's a story of some other time, Harry. We have something else to talk about right now." Harry did not miss the look in his eyes, there was regret, deep inside the pit of his dark grey eyes. They both sat on the bed and Sirius threw his arm over Harry's shoulder in a patronizing gesture. "Harry, I know that you and Hermione are quite close, most of us here do, and I hope you will behave responsibly. You are at a very critical stage in your life Harry, you should learn where to draw a line."

When the meaning was understood by Harry, a deep blush adorned his face. He turned his face away from Sirius in an attempt to hide it. "Sirius, I, that is…."

Harry stammered and stuttered before he abandoned all attempts to give a smart reply and took a deep breath. "You don't need to give me 'the talk', Sirius."

"Oh, thank merlin! That was uncomfortable." Sirius stood up and walked to the door. "But I expect mature behaviour from you, Harry. You understand, right?"

Harry just nodded so Sirius bid him goodnight and left the room.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Aunty, did you know about this? How is it possible?" She was bewildered, her finger on today's edition of Daily Prophet, it was the front-page story she was pointing at.

"What are you talking about, Susie?" Amelia walked to her side of breakfast table and read the newspaper over her shoulder.

"This!" There was a photo of Harry Potter during the wand-weighing ceremony. The headline of the story was above the photograph while the story below it.

 **Potter Under Criminal Investigation**

 _By Regina Cogburn_

 _Last evening, the famous teenage wizard who recently won the 'Wizards' Quintuple Cup', The-Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter was charged under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy. An enquiry in the matter is pending and the disciplinary hearing in the case is scheduled for 12 August, 9 AM._

 _It had come to the notice of the Ministry that Mr. Potter had performed magic in front of a muggle in a muggle inhabited area. It is important for our readers to understand the severity of the actions and to show Ministry's unbiasedness, Mr. Potter is suspended from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with immediate effect._

 _It is of note that this wasn't the first-time, Harry Potter had performed magic in front of muggles and in a muggle populated area. He had already received a warning three years back for a similar offence._

 _The team at Daily Prophet would like to remind the Wizarding public that the Statute of Secrecy is of paramount importance and Ministry would do everything in their power to maintain the secrecy of our world._

Amelia Bones read the article twice, needless to say that she was astonished. If a criminal case under Statute of Secrecy was registered, her department was surely involved and yet she did not receive any news or notification about it. Potter was already on the ' _VIP List_ ' due to the sensitivity of his case and everything of notice had to be brought in her notice immediately.

"You should send him a letter, you are friends with him." Amelia suggested, she was going over a to-do list in her mind.

"It's of no use aunty, Summer couldn't deliver my letters to him all summer. Wherever he is, they have wards up." Susan answered, her shoulders falling. Amelia put her hand on her shoulder in a sympathetic and reassuring manner.

"Security is important Susie and if he is right about You-Know-Who, then it's good that he has some ward work on the property." Amelia answered.

She felt bad for her niece. A week before last Christmas, Amelia received a letter from her niece, the letter showed her excitement, Amelia could even feel it. Susan was asked to the Yule Ball by Harry Potter and Amelia knew very well that her niece had a crush on the boy, she was happy for her girl. A couple of days later, she received another letter from her, this one was exact opposite to the last one. The letter had few of teardrops on it, she had written that Harry Potter had ditched her for his best friend, and yet she still remained friends with him.

It was a good thing that she was close with her niece, Amelia had made sure that Susan knew she could talk openly with her about everything. She was a teenage girl and it was a good thing to be friendly with her. It was difficult for her to accept that her niece was hurt and she would be able to do nothing about it. It was part of growing up, to get hurt, to fall and stand back, to move on. She just hoped that Susan would not get her heart broken by this boy again but the signs were indicating in that direction only.

"You could write to his friends and ask." Amelia suggested. She walked out of the kitchen to the living room, she had to make some appointments. She floo called her secretary to tell her to arrange the meetings. When she returned to the kitchen, Susan had left already, probably busy writing to friends.

Amelia left kitchen to get ready, she had a long day ahead of her. Twenty minutes later, she had bid her niece goodbye and left for her office. On entering the office, she was informed by her secretary about the scheduled meetings, according to which she had a meeting scheduled at eleven with the Senior Undersecretary. She wasn't looking forward to it, not one bit. She hated that woman, more than anyone she had the fortune of acquaintance. It wasn't a political rivalry, everyone knew that Amelia had no political aspirations. No, it all started way back, in her school life. Amelia Bones had the misfortune of being in the same year and house with Dolores Umbridge.

Hufflepuff house was known for its loyalty and hard work and yet the sorting hat had placed Dolores in Hufflepuff. There wasn't an ounce of loyalty in her, although there was no lacking of ambition, cunning or hard work in her. Throughout their time at Hogwarts, Amelia and Dolores had been on unfriendly terms. The things went worse when Amelia was made prefect, Dolores's jealousy made it impossible for her to stay out of Amelia's way. Everything went downhill in their final year when Amelia was made Head Girl and Dolores was her replacement Prefect for Hufflepuff.

One thing about Dolores Umbridge that no one can deny was that she holds grudges, even after two decades. They both joined Ministry, while Amelia applied for Auror Academy, Dolores went for the wizarding law apprentice position in Wizengamot. By the time Amelia's auror training was over, Dolores had completed her apprenticeship. While Amelia was a junior auror, Dolores was an assistant in legal team of Wizengamot.

The year Amelia was promoted to Senior auror, Dolores had risen to the post of team leader. After twelve years of job and training, when Amelia was promoted to Head Auror, Dolores was Secretary of Wizengamot Working Committee. The day Amelia was selected as Director to Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Dolores was appointed as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic.

At every important juncture in her profession life, Amelia found that Umbridge was always there, enjoying her success and Amelia had no problem with it, none at all. The problem was, Dolores never missed any opportunity to boast that how she was doing better than Amelia. Her remarks were subtle and yet they hurt, just a little bit. Dolores got her lifetime wish granted to her a couple of weeks back when her position was elevated and in the chain of command she had risen one step above Amelia. A month back, they were on the same level professionally and they did not have much opportunity to come across.

It wasn't that there was regular interaction between Amelia and Dolores even now, most of their official interaction was taken care through correspondence or through their respective secretaries or assistants.

No, the problem was that now she had authority over Amelia on the professional level. On the personal level, Amelia wanted that smug smile to be wiped off her face.

Amelia had reached the entrance to the Secretariat but she halted her steps for a moment, she needed to get her mind focussed. It won't do to lose your composure in front of her or to lash out. She entered the building and walked towards the Senior Undersecretary's office, she wanted to just barge in but professional ethics dictated her to ask her secretary if Umbridge was available for the meeting. But she was stopped by her secretary and was asked to wait outside. She patiently waited for 5 minutes before she was asked to enter.

"Good morning, Dolores." Amelia said, her eyes scanning the room. She had been to this office before Umbridge was appointed and the changes she brought were not appreciated by Amelia. The rectangular room was full with china and pink articles; there were drapes, hangings, wallpaper and all of them in pink; every inch on the wall was either covered with these or china saucers with different cat pictures. It was repulsive.

"Good morning, Bones." Dolores replied in her girlish voice. The formal tone did not go amiss from Madam Bones, Umbridge didn't even offer her a seat. "I don't seem to remember so please enlighten me about the subject of this meeting."

"I did not mention the subject to your secretary but I can assure you that it is important." Amelia replied, try to keep her face straight. She moved closer to the desk and sat on the chair in front of it, the chair wasn't very comfortable.

"I would be the judge of it. What is it Amelia that you wanted to discuss so urgently?" Dolores was not very patient and she was not even trying to hide it.

"Why wasn't I informed about last night?" Amelia asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"What about last night?" Umbridge asked and picked up a report to read.

"The Potter incident, a criminal investigation was launched and I wasn't informed. He is on the ' _VIP list_ ' and according to the procedure, I was to be informed before any action in the matter was taken." Amelia replied, the façade of emotionless expression falling off, it was replaced with disapproval.

"Oh dear, you don't remember, do you? He was removed from the list some time back. If that was it…." She did not even look up from the report.

"Dolores, I would like to remind you that he can't be removed without my approval. Besides, any criminal investigation has to be authorized by Director of DMLE which still is my position." Amelia's voice was now shaking with suppressed irritation and bubbling with anger.

"He was removed from the list with Minister's permission and I believe he has the authority to do that. That leaves us with the authorization of investigation. You need to recall, Amelia, that according to the new ministry structure Senior Undersecretary supersedes Directors of departments and I do have the authority to issue executive order for lower level investigations." Dolores explained it with an overly sweet voice as if she was explaining it to a five-year-old. Amelia would have given her some choice words but she was a mature and experienced witch and understood that it would be counterproductive to do so.

"If that would be all, Bones…." Dolores gestured towards the door with her raised chin, Amelia did not wait one more second in that room.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

The lunch break was just over and Amelia had barely settled down when there was a knock on the door. Her secretary opened the door partially and entered.

"He is here." She told her boss.

"Send him in and please send a tea service." Amelia instructed. Her secretary left and a few moments later re-entered with a guest. Amelia stood up in her place to welcome the guest.

"Good afternoon, Director Bones." The wizard said and offered his hand which Amelia shook with firmness.

"Good afternoon to you too, sir. Please take a seat." She directed him to the chair on the opposite side of her desk.

"Looks like your work burden is very well taken care off." The wizard commented, looking at her almost blank desk, there were no files or parchments on it.

"I prefer to keep things in drawers rather than the desktop." She replied, she understood his reference to the order of investigation issued. "I wasn't aware that you had already spoken to her."

"I haven't but I had an audience with our Honourable Minister last night." The wizard answered and shifted slightly in his seat. "What is your opinion about this incident?"

"At this moment, none. I need to know a few more facts to form an opinion and I would prefer if that happens with the investigation report or the hearing." She answered flatly, she was now curious but she looked at the wizard sitting before her suspiciously.

"I am not here to influence your opinion or impartiality in the case, Madam Bones although I think the investigation report would not be coming to you." The wizard replied shaking his head gently.

"Why wouldn't…." then she realized it, "the restructuring."

"I hope he comes to his senses, soon." He stood up from his seat, "if you would allow me…."

"I would like to meet him." Amelia said in a firm tone, it was balanced between request and decision. "Before he comes here, that is."

"We both know Amelia that I can't allow it but I can assure you that he is safe and innocent." With that he started to walk towards the door.

"Farewell, Amelia." He said, one of his hand on the door knob.

"You can't keep him in hiding, locked away in some vault, you can't keep him safe always, Albus." Amelia commented, many things were going through her mind at that moment.

"I wish I could."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It had been 5 days since Harry had arrived at Grimmauld Place, needless to say that the days were as boring as History of Magic lectures by Prof. Binns. There was one meeting of Order and the teenagers were kept out of it. They had used one of the inventions of the twins, the extendable ears, to eavesdrop on the meeting but the meeting itself was extremely boring. There was nothing substantial in it, it was a normal gathering to know if everyone was able to do what they were assigned. No details.

There were some kind of guarding duties for a handful of places, all mentioned as vaults. There were tailing assignments, all codenamed and the only one Harry understood was 'silver pony' which had to be Lucius Malfoy. There were some other assignments too, Remus was being sent to stay with a werewolf pack in Scotland and convince them not to join Death Eaters, Dedalus Diggle was assigned the job to go through the financial records of ministry of last four-five years for discrepancies. Only interesting event of the meeting was the quarrel between Snape and Sirius, it ended rather quickly due to Dumbledore's intervention but it gave the teenagers something to laugh about.

Hermione had wanted Harry to meet Rita Skeeter the next day of his arrival but he had tried to postpone it as much as he could. He wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her or rather he was very much sure about how he would react. But Hermione was relentless in making him meet her.

"Hermione, what's the matter? Why are you so pushy about it?" Harry asked one evening, he had had enough of her suggesting to see the beetle.

"Harry I have told you I have a plan. Can't you just listen to me?" Hermione replied, she was getting fed up. She was trying to do something but she could not do that unless Harry agreed.

"I am listening to you Hermione. Why is it so important?" Harry asked, it was a good thing that they were alone, it was a rare occurrence these days.

"Harry, I don't like this situation and I think we can do something about it but others don't think so." She took hold of his left hand in hers and caressed the back of it with the pad of her thumb.

"What has happened to you, Hermione? You are not doing something illegal, right?" Harry asked, he didn't believe one bit in that but he needed a confirmation from her.

"No!" She jerked his hand away, an expression of hurt on her face. "How could you even think something like that for me?"

"I don't. I just want to know what you want to do." Harry answered, this time he was the one to take hold of her hand.

"Harry, I think you should give her an interview." When she saw Harry attempting to protest, she continued. "Please listen to me first. People only know what they are told by the Ministry through the Prophet. Don't you think they have the right to know the truth?"

"Hermione, I want people to accept the truth but I am not going to sensationalize Cedric's death for it." Harry answered and rested his other hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Besides, if Fudge is controlling the Prophet then why would they publish it?"

"We can try 'Witch's Weekly'." Hermione replied, uncertain about the alternative.

"It's a gossip magazine, it would be utterly useless to do that. It would become a joke." Harry answered. He slowly pulled her into a gentle hug, his finger's going in her hair, making it even more messed up. She just buried her face in his shoulder, her nose touching the side of his neck.

"I just want this to go back to normal." Hermione mumbled. "It was better before, even if it was bad."

"It will, Hermione, I hope it will."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

When the next day Harry came down the stair for breakfast, he was greeted by an unexpected and not at all welcome visitor. He was walking down the stairs, a heavy tome held in his hand. He was about to approach the fireplace, intending to leave when Sirius entered through the kitchen.

"Where are you taking it?" Sirius asked in the sternest voice he had. His finger pointed at the tome clutched by Snape's side.

"I don't answer to you, Black." Snape answered in his trademark style, a sneer present.

"That book belongs to this house, Snape and you take permission from me before removing it from the house." Sirius replied, taking a couple of steps towards Snape in a threatening way.

"I seem to forget the date of your reinstatement in the House of Black." Snape answered before turning completely towards Sirius.

"You will when I will dump your sorry behind in a tub of grease. Oh wait, someone already dumped some of it on your head." Sirius answered and thrust his hands into his coat pockets. For any unexperienced wizard, the gesture was just that, a gesture but Snape knew that Sirius's fingers were around his wand. He took a step closer and dropped the book on Sirius's foot. Sirius flinched but did not break the eye-contact.

"Oops, your precious heirloom was quite heavy." He turned to leave but turned back and put his hand inside his robe, Sirius did not waste any time in drawing his wand. Snape just smirked at the action. "Don't flatter yourself, Black. If I wanted you hurt, you would be begging me for your dear life."

"Let's give it a try now, shall we?" Sirius replied.

"I don't have the luxury to stay home all day, Black." He pulled out a bundle of parchment tied with a ribbon and dropped on the table in front of the fireplace and left without another word.

"What's that Sirius?" Sirius bent down and picked up the book, it was some obscure old book about potions. Harry could not understand the title, it was runic but he noted the image of a cauldron on the front, which must mean that it was a potion's book.

"I have no idea." Sirius left the room and started towards the stairs. Harry reached to the table and picked up the bundle of parchment and walked down to the kitchen. He slowly removed the ribbon, the bundle was their Hogwarts letters.

"What you got there?" One of the twins asked from the dining table.

"Snape just dropped off our letters." He walked towards the table and handled everyone their respective letters. He then walked up to where Hermione was and took the seat next to her.

"Looks like our little genius was made prefect!" one of the twins said, looking towards Hermione. She blushed at the remark, "I might not be the prefect."

"Oh common, Hermione, you and Harry would be the prefects, no doubt about it." Ron jumped in the conversation.

"I think Dean would be made prefect, he is a better student." Harry replied, not hopeful about his prospects, he wanted to be one but he knew he wouldn't be.

"It's not just about grades, Harry, prefect has to be a leader through example. And you certainly fit that description." Hermione tried to raise his hope.

"Open up then." Molly came to the dining table and stood behind Ginny.

Hermione was first to open the envelope and something metallic fell out of it which was followed by a loud shriek. Hermione was so excited that she threw herself on Harry and pulled him in a vicelike hug.

"Congrats, Hermione. You deserve it." Harry congratulated her, patting her back to calm her excitement.

Molly looked at the twins in a questioning look, they both stuffed the letter in their pockets without opening. "It's for the first time that a Weasley in the final year is neither a Head Boy nor quidditch captain."

The twins slowly turned back towards Harry to avoid the disapproving look they were receiving from their mother. "Let's see your badge, Harry."

Harry opened his envelope but there was no metallic badge inside it, just a parchment.

"No way!" Both the twins shouted in unison, they were not looking at Harry but towards their youngest brother.

"It's me."

A/N: I hope that the next chapter will put things on the right track. Please Review.


	21. B2: Chapter 21 - Accident

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Before the start of Book-2 I had planned that I would conclude the hearing by the third chapter i.e. Chapter 21 but it's difficult to control the flow of words so as things stand, the hearing will be in the next chapter. This chapter is quite emotional and I hope you like it.

Please Review.

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Accident**

"It's me."

Ron looked more shocked than anyone else in the room. He wasn't given a chance to collect his wits before his mother had him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Our Ron is made a prefect, I'm so proud of you. That makes everyone in the family!" Mrs. Weasley gushed over it.

"And what are we mother?" One of the twins commented.

"Next door neighbours?" The other one completed.

All they received in return was a glare. Sirius entered the kitchen to this scene but before he could ask what was happening, Harry stood up from his seat, congratulated Ron and left the kitchen. Everyone was shocked at Harry's behaviour, Hermione followed him and Ron wasn't very far behind. Harry entered his new room but did not close the door, an invitation for Hermione to come and talk to him. He wasn't expecting that Ron would come too.

Hermione entered the room and gave Harry a hug from behind, her head resting on his shoulder. "It's ok, Harry. Nobody cares if you are made prefect or not."

Harry wasn't given an opportunity to respond before Ron barged in. "What's wrong with you?"

Harry suddenly turned, throwing Hermione off-balance, he had to grip her forearm to steady her. "Ron, can we talk about this later?"

"Why? Can't you just accept that I am made prefect? Why can't you be happy for me?" Ron's tone was filled with accusation, his voice was quite loud. Hermione did the only sensible thing and locked the door with a flick of her wand.

"I am happy for you Ron. Congratulations!" Harry replied, there was no joy in his words, they were empty of any positive emotion.

"Yeah, you are." Ron chuckled dryly, he was still holding the badge in his hand that was clenched in a fist. "What's the matter with you? Can't you just be happy that for once something good is happening with me?"

"What do you want me to say, Ron, huh? To say that I'm happy for you, I'm proud of you when the truth is that I don't think you deserve it." Harry was now getting even more angry, Hermione had to step between the two. "Calm down, Harry."

"The great Harry Potter does not think his sidekick to be worthy to be a prefect. You think only you can be prefect, huh? Harry Potter has everything and he wants everything, he got money, he got the girl, he won the tournament and now he wants to be prefect." Ron had stepped closer to where Harry stood, the only space between them was occupied by Hermione who was trying to push them away but was miserably unsuccessful. "Please stop talking Ron, you don't know what you are talking."

"How could I know, I'm nobody. I will show you Harry potter that I deserve to be the prefect." Ron turned and left the room without any more words.

Harry took a few steps back and dropped down on his bed, Hermione closed the door before turning back to Harry. "Why are you reacting like this?"

"Not you too, Hermione?" Harry closed his eyes, his face covered with his hands. "You know that he doesn't deserve to be a prefect, Hermione."

"I know but that doesn't that he is not. You should be happy for him, Harry. He was made prefect, he did not ask McGonagall for it." She pulled his hands away from his face so that she can look at his face. "Right now, you are behaving exactly how he did after your name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He is not responsible to be made prefect, Harry."

Harry just stared at her, he couldn't believe that she would compare his behaviour to that of Ron last year. He wanted to shout at her too but he tried to understand what she was saying, she was usually right. He wanted to tell her that she was probably right but before he could, there was a knock on the door. Hermione opened the door, on the other side stood Sirius, a sad look on his face.

"May I come in?" He asked to Hermione who stepped away from the door to let him enter. He sat next to Harry on the bed, his arm around Harry's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you think?" Harry snapped, looking away from Sirius.

Sirius sighed before looking at Harry, it was difficult for him to be the wise one. "You know something, Harry, your father wasn't a prefect either. In our year, Remus was made the prefect."

Harry head immediately turned towards Sirius, a surprised look on his face. "He was not? But he was Head Boy."

"That he was but you don't need to be a prefect to become Head Boy, Harry. You know your mother was prefect just like our Hermione here, she became the Head Girl too." Sirius told, a small smile on his face, remembering his school days. "You don't need to prove anything, Harry, to anyone. Your parents would have been proud even if you are not the prefect. I know because I am, I am proud of the person you are growing up to be. But you need to cherish the accomplishments of your friends too, Harry. Ron did not make himself prefect, he was select, don't hold him responsible for something that he did not do."

Harry nodded meekly, he was ashamed of how he had acted a few minutes ago. Sirius gave him a pat on the back before he stood up. "Come on, I want you to meet a friend of mine."

Sirius walked out of the room, Harry and Hermione a couple of steps behind. He climbed the stairs to the top floor, this floor only had three doors, two on right and one on left. There was a wrought-iron spiral staircase leading to the attic.

"Sirius, have you changed your mind yet?" Hermione asked, a pleading look on her face.

"About what?" Harry asked, the matter of discussion unknown to him.

"No, Hermione." Sirius answered, "I need to first check all of them, they are not safe."

"What are you guys talking about?" Harry asked. They were now standing in front of the last door on the right side, the door had a brass doorknob in shape of a coiled snake.

Sirius turned towards the teenagers and pointed to the door on the other side of the broad corridor. "That is the Black Family Library, Hermione here wants to spent her days there but you have seen enough of this house to know that how dark it can be. The books are not safe, I just want to make sure that they are before I allow you to enjoy them."

He turned back towards the door and turned the door knob, he did not open the door immediately, he waited a moment before slowly opening the door. The room was quite large, double the size of the room Harry was staying in. The room was messed up, it looked like a cross between a messy room of a teenaged boy and a dry forest. On the right side of the wall was a large bed, at least eight feet in width, on top of it was the friend Harry hadn't met in a year.

"Say 'hi' to Buckbeak." Sirius said before waving his hand towards the Hippogriff. Harry stepped ahead and bowed to the proud creature and waited for its approval. He stepped closer to the winged animal when he got the affirmative bow, he patted its beak and caressed its neck. "Hello Buckbeak, it's nice to meet you again."

"Don't spend much time here, Harry. Come down in an hour or so and apologize to Ron." Sirius left with those words.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

When Harry and Hermione came down from the top floor, the house looked empty, there was no sound coming from kitchen. When they entered the kitchen, Ginny and Ron were busy playing a game of chess and they were the only people present there. When the couple entered, Only Ginny recognized their presence, Ron did not even look up from the chess board.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked to Ginny.

"Mum went to Diagon Alley to get supplies and the school books. The twins are either in their room or they have apparated to Lee's. Sirius and Moody is in the Library, busy checking the books." Ginny answered while turning to look at the two. "You have something in your hair, Hermione."

There was a feather stuck in her bushy mane, Harry plucked it away. She muttered thanks and flashed him a smile, Harry reciprocated the gesture. Harry then turned to face Ron, he steeled his resolve and squared his shoulders, he needed to apologize to Ron.

"Ron, I need to say something." Harry said flatly, he had had enough internal turmoil for today. Ron did not respond, he did not even show that he heard him. "I apologize for my behaviour this morning, I hope you can forgive me."

When no words came from him, Harry rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. "I was just feeling jealous, Ron and I hope you would understand. It's not like I was the only one who said something hurtful."

Ron's head shot up from the chess board, he stood up abruptly. "You have to tell me that I was in wrong, even in your apology."

Ron left the kitchen and walked straight to his bedroom, Ginny followed him out, a confused look on her face, the chess board and the match was left abandoned. Harry decided that it was better if they stayed in Harry's room for a while. They started on their way up, they have had a rollercoaster of a morning, Hermione was a few steps ahead of Harry. As they were climbing up the stairs, Harry was looking at the showcases and Hangings on the sidewall of stairs. There were very peculiar things there, intriguing and exquisite, some were disgusting even like the mounted heads of the house-elves. Harry was near the second-floor landing when he noticed a box in the showcase, it was made of bronze and crystal. The looked like a beehive, the walls were bronze and the core was crystal, something grey was swirling inside. Harry stepped closer to it and picked up the box, there was crystal lid over it with a bronze lining. Harry could not resist himself from opening it, it was the wrong thing to do.

The moment the lid was opened, a dark grey smoke came out of it like a cloud with an ear-splitting shriek and blasted Harry off his feet. He was thrown back from the stairs, hitting the glass showcases on the other side of sidewall, shattering the glass completely before falling to the stairs below. Hermione just stood there, rooted too the spot in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened. She was brought out of her state when a door opened above and Sirius leaned over the stairs, "what happened?"

"Harry!" She ran down the stairs, two at a time; she kneeled where Harry lay motionless, his eyes closed, a pool of blood was forming near his head. She gently lifted his head and rested it in her lap. "Help! Sirius! Harry is bleeding!"

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It had been six hours since the accident, Harry was still unconscious, his condition critical. Harry was in a special, private ward in St. Mungo's; nobody was allowed inside the ward, except the Healer team. Hermione was sitting in the waiting room outside the ward, her clothes stained with dried blood, tears flowing down her face. Sirius was in his animagus form, his head resting in Hermione's lap, anyone could tell that how sad he looked. Tonks was sitting next to Hermione, Hermione's had was resting against her shoulder, she could feel the tremors in her body. Ron was sitting on the opposite side of the room, his head in his hands, Molly and Ginny were sitting next to him.

Moody was standing guard to the entrance of the waiting room of the ward, the door of the ward was through the waiting room only. They had not wasted any time in bringing Harry to the wizarding hospital, Moody had seen to it, he was in mission mode. Hermione was inconsolable, when they reached St. Mungo's she refused to leave his side, to make her stay out of the room the healers had to threaten her that he might die if she did not allow them to continue. Dumbledore was informed by Moody when they arrived, Mrs. Weasley came when she got the news after reaching Grimmauld Place. Moody had called Tonks for backup, she was the only Order member available at hand and it was a good thing that she was able to get Hermione to calm down.

The lead healer had informed that Harry had 23 laceration on the back of his head and back, many of them had glass pieces embedded in them. He had lost significant amount of blood and they were able to neutralize the blood loss. They were able to diagnose that whatever the smoke was, it was poisonous and bewitched. But they had no idea what it was and how to counter it, they were trying their best to contain the poison from spreading and attempting to break the curse. Dumbledore had spoken with the healer, he wanted information so he could try to find the way to counter the curse and neutralise the poison. He had left within minutes, he looked like a man on a mission. But before he left, he asked Hermione to repeat the incident and needless to say that her emotions got better of her and she could not

When Mrs. Weasley returned from Diagon Alley, she had brought supplies for a party to celebrate Ron becoming the prefect. But all those plans were put to rest when she saw the note Ginny had left behind. She had rushed to the wizarding hospital as soon as she got the news but by that time everything was in order. The twins were absent as they did not have any knowledge of what has happened, they were still with Lee Jordan.

Hermione was repeating one phrase inside her head, 'please stay alive', like a mantra. This wasn't the first time she had to wait for him to return to consciousness, no, but this time it was different. She held him when he was bleeding in her lap, she felt utterly useless, helpless. Every moment that passed between the incident and Harry being treated by the healer, it was painful beyond her imagination. Now she wasn't allowed to be with him, to hold his hand, caress his cheek while he slept. She was sitting outside, waiting for something positive to happen.

This was going to be long wait.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He was running, as fast as he could, his breathing uneven. He did not know where he was or where he was going, all he knew was he had to run. The stopped and turned to look around, all he could see was darkness, smoke rising from the ground, utter destruction. It took a minute for him to realize that it was Hogwarts, falling apart, burning, broken. He was standing in the courtyard, it looked like the castle had collapsed on itself, there was not a single tower standing, not a single turret intact. The ground was littered with the broken glass, wood and rubbles. He dared to walk ahead, for a moment nothing happened but then, suddenly the temperature dropped, the air turned heavy with dread.

He turned to see what was happening, he knew but he needed to be sure and his assumption was right, it was a horde of dementors. There were too many of them, hundred may be more than that, he had survived a situation like this before, he could do it again. He checked his pocket for his wand, it wasn't there neither was it in his holster. He was wandless and hence defenceless. He did the only thing he could think, he ran towards the castle. He needed to find someplace where he could lock himself to avoid a confrontation with the awful creatures. His legs led him towards Gryffindor tower on muscle memory, he did not found a single room where the door wasn't blasted off of its hinges.

He turned left and kept running, and the end of the corridor he saw a pair of dementors so ran in the opposite direction. He took the stairs, climbed up, a dementor was floating towards him, he banked right and avoided the creature but maintained his pace. He took the next turn but he realized a moment later that it was a mistake, the corridor was a dead end. He turned but it was too late, dementors were now swarming toward him. He could feel the cold, the dreadfulness within himself, he prepared himself mentally to resist. He clasped his hands around his mouth, trying his best to keep his mouth closed. It didn't take long for them to reach him, Harry was surrounded by the tall floating figures in black cloaks, a pungent smell of rotting flesh coming from them.

His worst memories fleshed in front of his eyes like a horror movie, as clear as if it was happening right here, right now. His mother's death, her screams were followed by the scenes of the graveyard. The scenes changed but they were as horrific as the last one, then there was this memory. It wasn't a memory exactly, more like his fear was just realized. He was kneeling and someone was standing in front of him, someone he dearly cared for, it was Hermione. Her back was towards him, her arms outstretched, she was shaking her head. "Not him, kill me instead!"

"Step away, foolish girl." A hissing voice said from the other side of Hermione, she was blocking his vision.

"No, please leave him. Kill me." Hermione said in a shaking voice, Harry could hear the desperation in her voice.

" _Avada Kedavra_ "

A jet of green light shot towards her and the next moment she collapsed in his arms, her caramel brown eyes unseeing. He was holding her close to himself, her back resting on his lap. He looked up and there he stood, in his black robes, his red eyes fixed at Harry, his wand aimed at his heart.

"You will suffer, Harry Potter! Everyone you hold dear will die in your arms, because of you."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

There was only one thing in his mind, to find a cure for the curse. The healer had told him that the poison and curse were connected, they were fused to generate the effect. Harry was suffering from continuous seizures, his muscles were contracting and loosening periodically like a pulse. He had an elevated heart rate, his brain was in overdrive, a heavy blood-rush towards his brain. He had investigated the spot of accident and the responsible artefact. The crystal-bronze showpiece belonged to the Black family, no doubt about that; similarly, there was no doubt about the fact too that it was quite dark in nature, just like the old family.

He had called Severus for help, Severus was an expert on Dark Arts and potions; if anyone in the order could help in this situation, it was this man. He had taken the artefact with him to Hogwarts, he needed his lab equipment to find a solution. It won't be easy though, Blacks were known for their extensive knowledge of Dark Arts. He decided to research the library for a solution for this crisis. That has to be the only place he could find a solution; the other option was to create it on his own.

He needed to be quick, time was a precious commodity which they could not afford.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Mistress Cissy, the task is done. The poor elf did what you asked." The old elf said while bowing to the witch in black robes.

"Did it happen?" The witch asked in a stern voice.

"It did mistress, it did." The elf answered, bouncing from one feet to the other, an evil gleam in his eyes. "Kreacher made sure that the boy opened the box."

"Very good."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Amelia was a bit shocked when she received the information from one of her sources at St. Mungo's that Harry Potter was brought in this morning for some accident. Dumbledore had put all the pressure on the hospital administration to stop any leak of the information. If the extent of his injuries was to be believed, Amelia had to check him and find out what was happening. She decided to visit him after she was done with the office for the day.

When she entered the hospital through the floo, she asked the receptionist for the direction to the ward where Harry Potter was. The receptionist was hesitant, Amelia hated to do this but she had to tell her that she was the Director of DMLE and threaten her mildly to get the information. He was in the private ward on the ground floor, the ground floor was for artefact accidents and the private ward was for extreme cases. She did not waste any more time standing there and started walking towards the room at a brisk pace. As she turned towards the ward, she saw a familiar face with an electric blue eye revolving in the socket.

He was sitting in a chair outside the closed door to the ward, his wand held firmly in his right hand.

"What happened Mad-Eye? How is he?" Amelia asked worriedly.

"An accident, he is still unstable." Moody answered flatly, both his eyes fixed on Amelia.

"Excuse me, Mad-Eye, I need to see him." Amelia said while taking a step towards the door.

"I can't allow that, Amelia. Dumbledore's orders." Moody answered, standing in front of her to block her approach.

"He has no authority here Mad-Eye so if you would let me through…." She attempted to take a step but she was again blocked by Moody.

"Sorry Director Bones but you have no authority here either. There is no case to be investigated here." Moody was firm in his response.

"Look Alastor, I'm not here officially, I just want to see the kid." Amelia replied calmly, she knew that it was pointless to force her way through, Moody was her mentor during her training years and she respected that.

"The kid is out, Amelia. You can talk to him when he wakes up." Moody answered in a gruff voice.

"What's the matter?" It was Tonks, she had just stepped out of the door to check what was going on, she didn't expect her boss to be here. "Good evening, Director. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Go inside, Nymphadora!" Moody growled.

"Good evening auror Tonks, I wasn't expecting to see you either. What are you doing here?" Amelia responded, a bit surprised at seeing Tonks there.

"I was…. Harry is a friend you see; his family was close to mine." Tonks answered a bit hesitantly, she wasn't good at cooking stories.

"So, you are also in Dumbledore's club." Amelia said, it wasn't a question, more like an acknowledgement. "I had my suspicion about you, I got the proof now. We will talk about it later."

Tonks just gave a curt nod but she also remained at the door. Amelia wasn't finished yet, "who else is there, auror?"

"Just few close friends and family." Tonks answered vaguely.

"But is thought Harry Potter was an orphan. I didn't know he had a family, Susan never told me." Amelia probed a bit more, there was no politeness in the conversation. Amelia could see that both of them were worried about something and they were trying their best to keep her away. She could sense that something suspicious was going on, call it instinct if you would, she needed to get through.

"Oh you misunderstood director. It's just me, Hermione, Weasleys and Padfoot." Tonks answered but realized a moment later that she had spoken one word too many.

Amelia did not show any reaction to the answer, it took a moment for her to process the names. She had heard the last one years ago, she knew the man very well, too well actually. She did not waste any moment before pulling out her wand, Moody had expected it so he was quick in pulling out his own. He was late just by a faction of a second, he was quickly disarmed by Amelia, the spell threw he off balance. Amelia pushed away a shocked Tonks who fell to the ground and opened the door to the waiting room with a flick of her wand.

There he sat, in his animagus form. The rage, the fury she was feeling then was beyond her comprehension. She started to walk towards him, he changed into his human form, a spell was just on the tip of her tongue when she was disarmed by Tonks from behind. Even then she did not break the stride and punched the man in the face with all her might. He was bleeding from his nose, completely disoriented and on the floor. There were loud shrieks from the two female Weasleys, Hermione was preoccupied to react and Ron was too shocked to make any noise.

Sirius was on the floor, Amelia was sitting on his chest, her hands were holding him by his collar. "You treacherous bastard! You are under arrest."

Moody and Tonks had walked into the waiting room and closed the door, their wands aimed at Amelia's back. It was Moody who spoke, "take a step back Amelia, you don't know what you are getting into."

Amelia pulled out her spare wand and turned swiftly to face the two. She was distracted by the opening of the door and in that moment, she was disarmed by Moody. It was Dumbledore, standing in the doorway, a concerned and defeated look on his face. Dumbledore entered the room and locked the door behind him, he put a silencing charm on it.

"Things are not how they appear, Amelia. You need to trust me on this." Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly way. He took a step ahead carefully, his hands raised in a defensive way. "Alastor, Nymphadora, please lower your wands."

The two members of Order complied with that request. Sirius was still on the floor but he was trying to get up, Hermione was trying to pull him up by his elbow. Dumbledore pulled out his wand from his sleeve, his other hand still in the defensive position. "I am not going to attack you, Amelia, trust me."

He flicked his wand and Sirius's nose was mended, another flick and the blood stains were gone from Sirius and Hermione's clothes. He then turned back towards Amelia and looked her in the eye. "I think we should all sit down. Molly, would you take the kids back to headquarters?"

Molly gave him a curt nod before turning towards her children, neither of two complained about it. But Hermione wasn't going to leave and she registered her intentions in the boldest tone. "I'm staying."

"You need to leave, Ms. Granger. There is nothing here you can do." Dumbledore wasn't backing down.

"I am not leaving, Harry." She answered, she won't concede this time.

Dumbledore decided that it was fine to let her stay. "Molly, please take them back."

Ron was about to protest but a glare from his mother stopped all those protests and the Weasley family walked out of the room. Moody made sure that the door was locked and there were charms on it to finish all possibilities of eavesdropping. They all sat down, Amelia taking the seat farthest from the others, she was returned her wands and she held onto one of them, her primary. Dumbledore flicked his wand and five crystal goblets appeared out of thin air, floating three feet above the floor. With another flick, they were filled with water which he then turned into firewhisky. He offered one to each of them except Hermione, Amelia hesitated before taking one, she did not drink from it, she just held onto it. "I can't believe you would betray that boy with this traitor Dumbledore. What's your story, huh?"

"Amelia, please calm down, all your doubts will be put to rest but I would expect you to keep an open mind about it." Dumbledore said in a calm voice. He understood that everyone was on edge right now, especially Amelia Bones. "You first need to understand that Sirius is innocent."

She just scoffed at it but did not say anything, she waited for remaining of the explanation. "He was framed by Pettigrew and before you ask, yes he is alive. He was the secret-keeper of Potters, he was a Death Eater. That day, when Sirius was arrested, Pettigrew blasted the street, cut his finger, turned into his animagus form which is of a rat. He then ran into a sewer before the aurors reached the site. He remained as Weasley's pet rat for twelve years, he was the Death Eater that helped Voldemort return to his body. Meanwhile Sirius was thrown into Azkaban without a trial and he was unable to appeal."

Amelia was shocked to silence, her eyes wide like saucers. Dumbledore sighed before continuing, "last year, when Sirius was caught, Harry tried to explain the situation to Fudge but he refused and then the events of last month changed the equation completely."

"I know, it is too much to take in Amelia, believe me I was shocked too. You should think it over tonight, if you still think that we were in the wrong, I would surrender for being accomplice and you can arrest Sirius." He stopped at that before rising to his feet, "I just hope that you are still the same person that was made the Head Girl all those years back."

Dumbledore gave a nod to Sirius and he turned back into his animagus form, Dumbledore then opened the door before walking out of the room. Amelia just gave a dry chuckle before she downed the spirit in one go, she left the room without another word. The room was eerily silent, a silence that was broken by Tonks's words, "I need to get some coffee."

Tonks left the room, Moody took up his guarding duties, leaving Hermione and Padfoot alone in the waiting room. Padfoot leapt up to sit on the seat next to Hermione, he sat on his hind legs. Hermione turned towards him and hugged the shaggy black dog. Padfoot rested his doggy-head on Hermione's, he could understand what she was going through at the moment.

But at least the day was almost over.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Auntie, what happened? Where were you? Are you okay?" Susan was worried for her aunt. Amelia would usually return home on time when Susan was there or she would inform her via floo. But today she was late, uninformed and if that wasn't enough cause of worry, she looked distraught, her face was as pale as milk. Amelia stepped out of the floo and collapsed on the couch in front of the fireplace. She did not have enough strength to answer her niece.

"Twinkle!" Susan shouted and a moment later, an elf appeared with a cracking sound wearing a grey tunic, the elf bowed curtly. "Get some iced water, be quick."

The elf disappeared the same way it appeared only to reappear a few seconds later, with a goblet of water over a tray. Susan did not waste any time and handed the goblet to her aunt, Amelia held it gingerly but did not drink from it. There were too many things going through her mind right now, she needed some time to think through everything that had taken place in that room in St. Mungo's.

She stood up slowly and started to walk towards the stairs leading to her study. Her steps felt heavy, she had to put a lot of effort to go all the way up. "I'll be in my study. Please don't disturb me."

Susan was stunned to silence, she hadn't seen her aunt behave in this manner ever. She needed to know if anything was wrong, her imagination was constructing scenarios which she knew were not possible but she couldn't help it. She did the only thing she could think of, she floo called Hannah. The person who responded on the other end was Mrs. Abbott.

"Hello auntie, where is Hannah?" Susan asked impatiently, anyone could tell that she was worried about something.

"Hello Susie, is everything alright?" Mrs. Abbott replied. When Susan just gave a nod, she told her that Hannah was upstairs, in her room. "Could you please call her, it is important."

"Sure honey. Just wait a second." She left to call Hannah, Susan could hear the hurried footsteps on the stairs. Hannah was kneeling in front of the fireplace in her pyjamas in no time. "What's up, Susie?"

"Can you come over, Hannah?" Susan pleaded, tears were forming in her eyes. Hannah agreed and asked her to move out of floo. A minute later, Hannah Abbott was standing in front of the couch where Susan sat.

"What happened, Su?" Hannah asked in a concerned manner.

"Hannah, did anything happen today at the ministry, did your father say anything?" Susan asked, her voice shaking a bit.

"He didn't say anything but he looked fine. Why?" Hannah answered, she did not know what was troubling her best friend. Hannah sat next to her and took hold of her hand. "Did something happen to auntie Ami?"

"I don't know, Hannah but she looked troubled." Susan answered and leaned in to rest her head on Hannah's shoulder. "I hope everything is alright with her."

"I think she is just stressed at work. There is nothing you need to worry about, Su. Now cheer up." Hannah said to her in a happy tone and gave her an encouraging smile.

"You know, I have something to tell you." Susan said while slowly clearing the unshed tears from her eyes and putting a smile on her face. She put her hand in her pocket and withdrew something, she opened her fist, in her hand was the Hufflepuff prefect badge.

"Congrats Susan, that is great." Hannah pulled her into a tight hug, an excited shriek escaping her. "Who else if not you, Su!"

"I don't know, maybe you." Susan said to that rhetoric question. Hannah answered without even thinking, "nah, I am too funny for that."

"Somebody got a big ego." Susan commented laughingly. "I might need a pin to burst the big head balloon."

"Looks like someone is already doing her prefect duties." Hannah replied, before she dove in to tickle Susan.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

She was standing in her niece's nursery, watching her sleep in her crib. She looked angelic, pure and peaceful, Amelia just wanted to watch her every moment of her life, she was the last of her family. She gently caressed her chick, making sure that she did not wake up. Amelia was trying to push everything out of her mind that she had come to know today, the news disgusted her.

Potters were killed last night, betrayed by their closest friend, their secret-keeper, Sirius Black. Even if Voldemort was gone, the situation wasn't a happy one. The little Potter was an orphan and the person who would have been responsible for him in the situation was the reason behind the death of parent. Black did not stop there, he killed 13 civilians in broad day light along with Peter Pettigrew, another one of James Potter's close friends. Amelia wasn't one of the aurors that went to arrest Black but she had heard the details of that incident. There was no trace of Pettigrew's body except a finger, after that, Black had blasted a curse in the street that costed thirteen civilian lives, and he stood there, laughing like a maniac. He did not even protest when aurors went to arrest him, he kept laughing. He was sent to Azkaban without any delay.

It was painful, the treachery, the betrayal; James Potter considered him a brother, Sirius lived in his house when he ran away from his ancestral home. Potters accepted him into the family with open arms. The fact that James Potter made him Godfather to his firstborn was proof enough of his trust in Sirius Black. Who knew that the Blacksheep of the Black House had a heart as black as his name.

There was more to the reason behind her misery, something closer to her heart. James Potter's trust wasn't the only thing the last of Blacks broke, her trust and heart had suffered the same fate. She left the nursery and went to the living room, she did not want to break down in front of her sleeping niece. She went and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, the heat of the fire was pleasant but the heat was nothing compared to what she was feeling right now, the fury was burning inside her like Fiendfyre. She pulled out her wand from the holster and removed the glamour charm from the engagement ring she was wearing. She put down her wand on the centre table before removing the ring from her finger.

She looked at the piece of jewellery that Sirius has given her two weeks ago, the day he proposed before going into hiding. Merlin! She can't even look at it without feeling betrayed. She threw the ring in the fire with all the force she could muster, tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks, she was sobbing uncontrollably, her breathing was erratic. She buried her face in her palms to muffle the noise. She could not believe that she had trusted that man, she had bared heart, her soul to him. She felt violated, disgusted at herself, she had let that man touch her, love her. How naïve she was, young and foolish; she was an auror and yet she had let someone deceive her.

Sirius was a year younger than her, a year behind her in school. He had a roguish charm to him, he was a smooth talker, his image was that of a ladies' man. She hadn't had much interaction with him in school but she was aware of his reputation. She was surprised when he had joined the Auror Academy, it was during a time when Wizarding World was at war, Ministry was losing aurors at very high frequency, there was pressure to induct aurors quickly. The three-year program was replaced with a one-year advanced program and he had joined the auror team when he was a few weeks older than nineteen. And as luck would have it, they were on the same squad.

It wasn't love at first sight, no, it gradually developed. Initially, Amelia hated him, he was too reckless, insincere, irresponsible but she came to know a different Sirius Black in their time together. They grew closer and closer but Sirius wanted to keep it a secret and Amelia agreed wholeheartedly. Sirius had told her that it was the only secret he had kept from James, Amelia scoffed at that memory. When they got serious, things started to fall apart, her elder brother and his family were murdered with her parents. They were not the last ones, her younger brother and his wife were also murdered, leaving behind their one-year-old daughter behind. Susan, she was now her responsibility, they were now the last of Bones Family. Through all this turmoil, Sirius was by her side, her rock. When Sirius asked about any possibility of them being together, Amelia had put two conditions forward. The first was that she would not change her family name, that meant that Sirius would leave his family-name behind. The second was that they would adopt Susan as their daughter and she won't have any kids of her own so that there was no possibility of any biasedness in future.

Sirius had agreed to both the conditions without a moment's hesitation, he had proposed the next afternoon. Amelia was immeasurably happy, she could not define the level of happiness she was feeling in words.

But then everything turned to ashes, her dreams, her life, her happiness.

She decided then and there, she would not let someone betray her again, the only person who deserved her unconditional love was her niece and no one else. She would not make a mistake like this in future, Sirius will be the last man to play with her heart.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Amelia was sitting behind her desk in her study, a crystal goblet filled with firewhisky in her hand. She was swirling the contents of it, her eyes looking in the distance. She drained the contents of the goblet before refilling it, she took a detour down the memory lane, she paid a visit to her younger self. The day she vowed to not let her mind and heart mingle. That memory and the events of this evening had given birth to a hundred doubts and a thousand questions, none of which she had any answers to.

What if he was innocent? What if she had tried to talk to him? What if she had trusted him just a bit more? What if she had seen to his fair trial? Had she taken a premature judgement based on a prejudiced thought? Was her decision completely emotion influenced?

She emptied the contents of the goblet before rising from her chair, she took a few steps gingerly. She had had enough liquor for one evening and yet her sorrows weren't drowned, they swam in the sea of alcohol, trying to drag her deeper into the abyss.

She needed to sleep, to get her emotions and her thoughts in order.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Hello Severus, I wasn't expecting you so soon." The old wizard said to his colleague.

"I have something." The man in black cloak walked over to Dumbledore's desk and placed the artefact gently. "It does not belong to Blacks."

Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his eyes were still on the potion master. "How did you reach the conclusion and forgive me for asking but is it relevant?"

"It is very relevant Headmaster. I reached to this conclusion because I can recognize my own brewing." Snape answered before taking the seat. Dumbledore slowly rose from his and walked to the fireplace, "what is it?"

"The potion was just a hallucinogen, it was my own formula, but it has been tempered with. The symptoms it would have caused would be different then what he is experiencing." Snape's face was completely devoid of expression.

"What do you think, Severus?" Dumbledore's voice was more curious than worried.

"The potion must have been embedded with Cruciatus, I do not know how that can be done but I am certain that Dark Lord did it himself. I can guess why the Dark Lord would do such thing and I know you must have already guessed." Snape answered flatly. He stood up and turned to leave but was stopped midstride by Dumbledore's voice.

"It won't cause permanent damage?" Dumbledore asked without turning to look at him.

"Dark Lord wants to make his mind vulnerable for his probing, the boy would have no mind shields then. He would use more direct approach for something permanent. Regular calming draught and dreamless sleep potion might help the kid. The curse would be over in couple of days." Snape left the room with that.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Amelia woke up with a severe headache, she was having trouble opening her eyes, she was too old for this. She slowly moved towards the bathroom, there might be some pepper-up potion to kick start her day with more energy. Luckily there was a vial present, she felt quite better once the potion started to take effect. She took a hot shower to get the blood flowing and to wash away the stink of alcohol. Once she was done getting ready for the day, she walked down to the kitchen where her niece sat at the small breakfast table.

"Good morning auntie." Susan said in a happy tone and gave a bright smile. "How are you?"

Amelia noticed that Susan was in the middle of having her breakfast when she entered. "Good morning, Susie. And I apologize for yesterday."

Amelia walked up to her and gave her a tight hug from behind, she bent down so her lips were just millimetres away from her ears. "I love you pumpkin and I am sorry."

Susan just gave a small nod which Amelia felt as Susan's ear just grazed her lips for a moment. "I have something to tell you auntie."

Amelia broke the hug to look at her, Susan turned in her chair to properly face her aunt. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the prefect badge to show her aunt. "I received it yesterday."

"Congratulations pumpkin, you deserve it." Amelia pulled her into another hug and gave her an encouraging pat on her back. She drew back and sat in the next chair before asking, "so, what are we doing to celebrate it?"

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Dumbledore had received a letter from Madam Bones a few minutes ago, she had asked for a meeting. She wanted to do the meeting in his office and asked him to let her through the floo. He had opened the floo connection immediately and waited for Amelia to arrive. The fireplace turned green for a moment and Amelia stepped out, dusting the soot off her robes.

Dumbledore stood at his place to welcome her. "Good Evening, Madam Bones. Please Have a seat."

"Good evening, Headmaster." She took the seat, she had a determined look on her face.

"You are aware that I can arrest you for providing asylum to Black." That wasn't a question but Dumbledore nodded in response. "I checked the records, the case file is confidential and can't be accessed without an executive order."

Dumbledore just gave her a solemn nod so Amelia continued, "you knew this, you have seen the files when you were Chief Warlock."

"I checked the records last year. There was no file, no investigation and no trial. He was arrested and sent straight to Azkaban. Emotions were running high that day nobody was in a mood to think about the procedures." Dumbledore answered, a sombre look on his face. "I could have told you this earlier but you needed to see it yourself. That is the only file on a Death Eater that is confidential. What does that tell you?"

"They were trying to downplay it, Bagnold and Crouch." Amelia answered. "They needed a someone to take the fall."

"Precisely." Dumbledore gave her another nod.

"I want to meet him. Alone." She demanded firmly.

"That can be arranged."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Sirius was waiting impatiently in Dumbledore's office for the last ten minutes. He had arrived from St. Mungo's with Bill when he received a message from Dumbledore to come to his office immediately. Bill was having a walk around the castle while Dumbledore had left the office when Sirius arrived and asked him to wait here. 'Wait for what?' he didn't specify.

The floo activated with the green flash before a female figure stepped out of the flames. He knew that face, he would have identified it in a crowd of thousands and yet his first response was to pull out his wand. He could not take the risk; the stakes were too high. He lowered the wand when he saw that she wasn't pointing hers at him.

"I could have attacked you." Sirius asked rhetorically.

"You couldn't risk it, I am the only thing that stands between you and Azkaban right now." Amelia answered flatly, no emotions on her face. She moved to sit on the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"What do you want?" He asked her aggressively, he did not move from his place, he was now standing in the centre of the room.

"Answers." Amelia turned her chair so she could look at him.

"If you are here then Dumbledore must have told you already." Sirius responded, he could not thing a reason why she would interrogate him when Dumbledore must have explained everything clearly.

Amelia leaned back so that her back was resting against the back of the armchair. "There are a few dark corners. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't the secret-keeper?"

Sirius looked in her eyes, they weren't filled with hatred rather they held disappointment. "Absolute secrecy was required."

"When did the switch happened?" Amelia was now curious.

Sirius sighed, his shoulders sagged at the memory, "the day I…. the day we…. It doesn't matter. It was necessary and Dumbledore agreed with that."

She understood what he did not say completely. "I need an answer, Sirius, a clear and direct answer."

"I think this has gone long enough." He turned to leave but his steps were halted by the voice from behind.

"I am not done questioning yet, Mr. Black." Amelia shouted, her façade of calmness started to fall.

"But I am done answering." He turned back but one of his hand was on the door knob. "I have answered enough questions and I am done with it. Look, I'm innocent and if you can't trust my words then trust Dumbledore's judgement at least. But if that is not enough for you then I don't know what would be."

He had opened the door and was about to step out when Amelia asked in a tender voice. "Was ' _Us_ ' ever true, Sirius?"

"It doesn't matter now."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He knocked on the wooden door before he was commanded to enter. He entered and closed the door behind him, he did not waste any time in bowing to his master, his blonde hair falling to cover his face. "It is done master. The boy is in St. Mungo's."

Voldemort looked at his follower before he asked him to stand up straight. "It is futile. Fools!"

Voldemort was thinking about the genius of his plan. Dumbledore's little party did not know that their elf was still obedient to Narcissa Malfoy, it was a surprise to Voldemort himself. The elf could not take them to the place but he could transport things. This was a gold mine, now he just needed to device a plan. Snape's little piece of information about Harry Potter's vision was very crucial, Voldemort was sure that if the mental shields were down, he could enter the boy's mind. If the distance made it difficult, he could at least feed him some things. All he needed was to make his mind pliable, nothing that few Cruciatus can't do. But he needed for the boy to stay alive, for the time being, he would have his uses. Snape was happy to brew a hallucinogen for him and Voldemort embedded the potion with Cruciatus curse. The method of embedding the potion with a curse wasn't new to him, he had done it before and the result was more than satisfactory.

And seemed like that was the case this time too.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It had been a week since the accident, Harry was still unconscious. The only thing that changed was that now he wasn't experiencing the seizure, he wasn't for the last 5-6 days since he was administered the Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleep Potion. He was bring given the two on regular intervals. The poisons effect was subdued but it was still in the system, the curse was slowly waning. The visitors were now allowed, they were allowed the same day his seizures were brought under control.

Hermione hadn't left the Hospital, even for taking a bath or for meals, she hadn't left his side except for the natural causes, she had barely eaten anything. She just there, by his side, holding his hand, his hand was limp, she did not want to use the word 'lifeless'. He looked so small lying on the bed in the hospital gown, so fragile, his skin was as while as porcelain. She gently moved his hair away from his face, his eyebrows were knitted together, his forehead creased. She slowly caressed his forehead, patting it rhythmically, there was no response.

Dumbledore had spoken to the healer and the healer had announced that Harry was out of danger but they had no idea when he would wake up from this magical coma. Hermione wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes but there was a small voice in the back of her head which was whispering that he might never wake up. She pushed that blasted voice further back.

She bent down to rest her head where his hand lay clasped in hers. Before closing her eyes, she gave him a smile.

"Good night, Harry."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

A/N: Please Review, they are the encouragement. I would like your opinion about a relationship between Amelia and Sirius, I haven't decided if I want to or not. In the broader scheme of things, it won't make a huge difference but reader's opinion is important. On a different note, I would not be able to post till the end of July, got a busy schedule and that's why I am posting second chapter this week. But I would still like to know about your reaction to the chapter.


	22. B2: Chapter 22 - The Hearing

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: It's been weeks since I last posted a chapter so here is the next one. It's a bit difficult to push the story in the right direction without losing any points or the feel of the story. I hope you like it.

Please Review.

 **Chapter Twenty: The Hearing**

Susan was shocked when her aunt told her that Harry was under intensive observation and treatment in St. Mungo's. She was even more shocked that her aunt knew this for six days now and hadn't yet told her about it. Her aunt neither knew any details about it nor had she met him but she had known that he was involved in some kind of artefact accident and he was unconscious since then. She wanted to go and see him that moment but her aunt had decided that they would go together that evening. So, she was waiting for her aunt to return from the moment she had stepped in the floo. She did not even let her aunt relax for a minute on her return, she was impatient and she wanted to go to the wizarding hospital without wasting anymore time.

As they were walking down the corridor to the ward, she recognized her DADA professor from last year. But he raised his left hand to stop them in their stride.

"I have spoken with Dumbledore, Alastor. We have permission." Amelia told Moody in a calm manner. Moody entered the room and closed the door, he returned a few seconds later and opened the door to allow them inside the waiting room.

Inside the waiting room were Ron, Snuffles and an unexpected face. Ron rose from his place to greet Susan and her aunt, Susan exchanged pleasantries very quickly before walking inside the patient's room. She was half expecting the scene she met but it was still painful but she had to put up a brave and happy face.

Inside the room was the bed on which Harry was sleeping, Hermione sat in the chair on his right, her right hand holding his, their intertwined fingers near to her face, she was gently caressing it. She had a book in her left hand which she was reading in a gentle voice as if reading to Harry. Hermione was so immersed in reading the book that she did not notice Susan opening the door and entering. Susan felt a pang of jealousy, she would have liked it very much to switch places with Hermione. She had a thought which she would never confess to anyone, she wanted the breakup to be permanent. She wanted her chance with him which was snatched away from her so badly. She did not hate Hermione for it, she had the right to fight for what she wanted and Susan would never resent her for that. She just stood there for a few seconds, watching the scene but she was caught when Hermione turned to look at the door. Hermione gave Susan a genuine smile and Susan returned the smile with her own but it did not resemble her natural one.

"Hey." Hermione greeted while closing the book and placing it on the side table.

"Hey, you two." Susan moved to sit on the chair across the bed from Hermione. "How is he?"

"Stable." Hermione did not elaborate. "He looks peaceful, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." That was the only response Susan gave, her eyes were also fixed on Harry's face. "What happened?"

"An accident, an artefact blasted in his hand." Hermione changed the details of the event slightly. Susan noticed that Hermione looked weary and her eyes were evidence enough of the sleepless nights she had spent.

"How long have you been here?" When no answer came from Hermione, Susan told Hermione, "you should take some rest, Hermione. Probably you should go home and sleep."

"I am alright, Susan." Hermione answered flatly.

"No, you are not and it will not help you." Susan was unable to think a way to get her to take some rest. "I would stay here so you can take some rest. I will inform you the moment he wakes up."

"I am not leaving, Susan and thanks for your offer." There was steel in her voice that left no room for discussion.

Susan did not want to push her so she changed the topic. "Did you two receive the prefect badges?"

Susan did not miss the pause that came between her question and Hermione's answer. "The letters arrived a week ago and there was a badge."

"Congrats, Hermione." Susan gave her a smile before she asked, "You and Harry would be the perfect prefect couple of the year."

She realized, from Hermione's reaction that something was missing and she was proven right in that assumption. "Harry is not the prefect Susan, it's Ron."

"Why would McGonagall make him the prefect instead of Harry?" Susan asked, a bit astonished at the news.

"Only McGonagall can answer that question." Hermione sighed before continuing, "I am going to ask her that question when I will see her next."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

In the waiting room, there was a different scene playing out. Ron was in the non-verbal and silent crossfire of Sirius Black vs Amelia Bones. Uncomfortable and awkward did not even begin to describe the situation, it was getting on his nerves so he did the only thing that came to his mind, he left the room and went in search of the canteen. He had a few sickles saved up for treating himself and his mother gave him a bit extra pocket money for being made a prefect.

Once Ron was out of the room, Amelia pulled out her wand and locked both the doors and silenced them. "Sirius, turn back. I need to say something."

Sirius did not and so Amelia continued with her words. "I did not know anything about it, Sirius. I am…. I just wanted to…. Look, I understand, Sirius."

She was about to say 'sorry' but she stopped herself, she did not need to apologize to him, she hadn't done anything wrong. She did what she believed to be best for her niece and herself, she can't feel guilty about it.

"No, you don't, you don't understand it and it's better that way." Sirius answered as he turned back to his human form. "It doesn't matter to me anyway."

Amelia was getting a bit emotional but she tried to keep the emotions out of her way. "Ok, I don't understand but what do you expect from me after all these years? Did you think that I would fall on my knees and apologize? You don't get to judge me for what I did."

Even though she tried her best but her voice had grown louder, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Sirius leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees, his fingers moving through his hair. "I didn't expect anything from you Madam Bones and I am not judging you, I never did."

A silent understanding passed between the two that they won't speak of this again, they won't speak about the years that had passed between them.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It had been an hour since Susan left when Ron entered the room and stood next to Hermione. "You need to go home, Hermione."

"I don't think so. I am alright." Hermione replied flatly.

"No, you are not and I am not going to listen to your excuses." Ron replied forcefully. He looked genuinely worried about her and he wasn't going to step back.

"He needs me, Ron. I am not leaving his side." Hermione turned back to Harry. "You should go home if you want to."

"Hermione, he would need you more when he wakes up. You would be exhausted when he wakes up if you keep stretching yourself thin." Ron was getting infuriate with how Hermione was acting. "Look Hermione, I will stay here till tomorrow morning, go home, eat, sleep and return first thing in the morning. He is my bestmate, you know."

Hermione was speechless, she was finding it difficult to find a suitable reply. Ron continued when he got no reply, "Leave now, I will stay here."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

She was walking towards the floo-network thinking about the past days, Snuffles was on her heels. She remembered that it was Harry's birthday when the accident took place and in everything that happened before and after the accident, she had completely forgotten to wish him on his birthday, they all had. She had planned a small birthday party for him that evening, Sirius and the twins were very helpful in that and yet they were here. She berated herself for forgetting to wish Harry on his birthday, 'how could she forget to wish her best friend, her boyfriend on his birthday'. She was so busy in her thoughts that she didn't see what was in front of her and she collided with someone. That someone turned out to be Neville Longbottom.

"Hey Hermione!" Neville offered her his hand to stand up, she accepted the help with a smile.

"Hey Neville. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Hermione asked him worryingly. She did not notice the old woman standing a couple of feet away from Neville, she had a stuffed vulture on her hat.

Neville was hesitating in answering the question but he didn't have to answer as his grandmother did that for him. "Everything is fine young lady, we were here to see his parents."

Neville's head fell down, he was looking at his feet. Hermione had a confused look on her face, so she asked the old woman what she meant. "I am sorry but what happened to them?"

"My son was an auror, he and his wife both were, they were tortured by Death Eaters. They are now in the Janus Thickey ward, permanent damage to their brains."

Neville looked ashamed, he moved his head to look anywhere but towards Hermione. His grandmother wasn't finished yet, "You should be proud of them, Neville and it is very rude not to introduce us."

"Oh Neville!" Hermione brought him in a tight hug which Neville did not return. Hermione pulled back a moment later, her actions had surprised both the Longbottoms. Neville's face was scarlet with embarrassment.

Neville was trying to introduce Hermione to his grandmother but he was stuttering and stammering so Hermione helped him. "I'm Hermione Granger, ma'am. We are in the same year."

"Ah, 'the brightest witch in the year', I have heard quite a lot about you, young lady. Augusta Longbottom." Neville's grandmother shook Hermione's offered hand with a somewhat dubious smile. "I was told that you are a muggleborn."

Hermione's expression soured a bit, she thought that Madam Longbottom might hold it against her but her worries were diminished with the next words. "I am not concerned with your blood status Ms. Granger, I am just surprised a bit, that's all. Haven't seen a muggleborn outperform others in quite some time."

Hermione looked a bit embarrassed but she thanked her for the complement nonetheless. Madam Longbottom continued with her words, "excuse us but we need to return, I hope we will see you on the platform."

Augusta turned to leave but Neville did not. "What are you doing here, Hermione?"

However small a smile was on Hermione's face vanished as the situation was reminded. "It's Harry."

"What happened to him?" Neville asked and he turned to see his grandmother watching the two from a few feet away.

"He was in an accident, we brought him here last week, he is still unconscious." Neville could see the tears that were threatening to spill so he assured her that everything will be alright and turned to talk to his grandmother. He turned back to talk to Hermione a few moments later, "where is he?"

Hermione gave him the direction to Harry's ward and Neville and his grandmother bid her goodbye to walk in that direction.

Hermione did not wait any longer to return to Grimmauld Place.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It was morning of the eighth day of August and Hermione was in her usual seat on the right-hand side of Harry's bed, holding his hand in hers. She was reading a book when she felt a gentle squeeze in her hand, her head snapped in the direction of Harry's face. And to her relief, his eyes were open, not completely but enough to tell that he was awake. Harry tried to open his mouth and say something but he wasn't audible. Hermione moved herself so that her face was inches away from Harry's. "Hey, 'Mione."

She sat on the edge of his bed, she moved her hands to cup his face and brought her forehead to rest on his. "Hey, you!"

"Water!" his voice was barely audible, it was rough from not being used for days. Hermione brought him in a more comfortable position and adjusted his pillows before she handed him the glass of water from the side table and left the room for a moment.

The waiting room had only one occupant, Ron, Padfoot was back at Grimmauld Place today. "Ron, can you get the heeler? He is awake."

Ron was reading a Quidditch magazine and it took a moment for her words to sink in. "What?"

"Please get the heeler, Ron. Harry is awake." Ron could see the relief on her face and her voice was happier today. He ran out of the room without any reply.

"Who else is out there?" Harry asked when Hermione sat on the edge of the bed. Water had softened his voice somewhat but it was still barely audible. He tried to sit up straight but Hermione's firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Don't try to get up." Hermione said in her gentle voice, she could not even manage to scold him. Harry understood that she was going through a rush of emotions, he lifted his hand to gently caress her face with the back of his hand. That was it for Hermione, she flung herself on him and brought him in a protective, possessive embrace that she never wanted to break but that moment came very soon.

"You will definitely choke him, Granger." Ron said from the door. He received a death glare for his cheek from the brightest witch of her age, he just raised his hands in a apologising gesture. "Too soon?"

The heeler walked in a few seconds later to examine Harry. "Would you two please step out of the room?"

Hermione did not want to and she made her feelings known, "Can I stay?"

"I am sorry but it is standard procedure, it won't be long, I promise." The heeler replied. Hermione was biting her lower, she didn't want to let him out of her sight even for a fraction of a second. She knew that she had to, so she bent down to kiss his forehead before heading out of the room.

"How do you feel, Mr. Potter?" The heeler asked while her wand was drawing indiscernible patterns in front of Harry, a few of them resulted in different light on his body.

"Tired." He replied, his voice very small.

"How were your dreams?" The heeler continued with the questioning.

"Not very pleasant. They lasted too long, after that it was all black." Harry answered truthfully.

"Dreamless sleep potion has that effect." The heeler answered before proclaiming that the examination was over, she opened the door for the other two teenagers to enter. Hermione didn't waste any time and sat on the edge of the bed, she was sitting as close as possible without sitting on his lap.

"You are fine Mr. Potter, you will be back on your feet in a week." The heeler said before writing something on the notepad. "I will send the potions with a medi-witch."

"Hey, mate." Ron said when the heeler had left the room. Harry was unsure how to react but he realized that whatever tension they had was suspended for the time being. "Hey, Ron. How are you?"

Ron chuckled before answering, "better than you, I guess."

When he received another death glare from Hermione, he said before stepping out of the room and closing the door. "Not my fault, he asked for it."

Harry received a look of disapproval as he laughed lightly on the interaction. The look though morphed to that of concern and affection. Hermione asked just for peace of her own mind, "How are you feeling now?"

"I would say fine but I don't feel that answer would satisfy you." He chuckled dryly but the look Hermione gave him wasn't a good one. "Sorry. I feel exhausted."

"Mm Hmm." That was the only reply Hermione gave before her fingers found their way in his hair, she slowly and gently scratched his scalp which made him feel so relaxed that he moaned. Hermione couldn't stop giggling at his reaction and Harry liked it that way. Within a minute since she began her ministrations, Harry was asleep. He slowly adjusted himself in his sleep so that his arms were around Hermione's waist while the side of his face rested on her abdomen. A shiver went through her as his nose nuzzled against her stomach, a thin layer of fabric was the only thing between their skins, she could feel his breath on her skin.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"What are we going to do?" Harry asked from his bed. He was back at Grimmauld Place but he wasn't completely healed, he was still very weak. He was discharged from St. Mungo's this morning on Dumbledore's request, needless to say the healer attending to Harry wasn't very happy about the situation and had given a long list of Dos and Don'ts to Hermione, a mandatory weeklong bedrest was prescribed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seen to his discharge and Harry had arrived in the ancient Black residence via floo.

"No idea, Dumbledore requested Fudge to shift the date of the trial but the Ministry isn't budging." Sirius answered from the opposite side of the room. The Hearing was the next morning and Harry wasn't strong enough to attend it in person. "Dumbledore said that he would be able to advocate your side."

"But don't you think Fudge would make a big deal out of his absence?" Ron was the one to raise the question. He was sitting on the chair near the desk.

"Ministry can issue an arrest warrant if the accused if absent." Mr. Weasley answered from his chair across from Sirius. "Dumbledore might be able to convince them to postpone the hearing while he presents your case."

"He won't agree to that." Sirius answered emotionlessly. "We need to find a way."

"We can ask Madam Bones." Tonks interjected, when she received a glare from Sirius, she explained her proposition. "She would be on the panel, she is DMLE Director after all."

"She would be easily overwritten by Minister or the Senior Undersecretary." Sirius dispelled the idea.

"Call me crazy but I have an idea, why can't we send someone else." Ron was the one to interrupt the discussion. When everyone was looking at him expectantly, he continued. "If Crouch can play Mad-Eye for a year, why can't I do the same for Harry. I have first-hand experience of four years."

Hermione was the one to pull the plug on the idea. "You can't claim that you don't know it, Ron but Polyjuice takes a month to brew and for your kind information, the trial is tomorrow."

"Hey! Don't shout at me. If you have a better idea, I am all ears." Ron replied angrily.

"You don't need to brew Polyjuice, Mad-Eye can get enough from Knockturn Alley for a few galleons. Besides, thanks to Ron I have a better plan." Sirius pitched in the discussion. He gave a mischievous look to Tonks and everyone could see the colour of her hair change to a sickly green.

"No! No Sirius, it's not happening!" Tonks was shaking her head violently. "Have you gone beyond the turn?"

"Dear Dora, won't you help your little cousin who is in bad health?" Sirius asked with a sweet voice. "And where is your sense of adventure?"

"Sirius, if she got caught, she would be kicked from the force and they both will face criminal charges for fraud." Arthur replied, his eyebrows were about to jump off his forehead.

"What are you guys talking about?" Harry had yet to catch up on what was happening. "How is she my cousin?"

"Your family lecture would come later, Harry. However, what we are talking about is…." Sirius looked at Tonks expectantly. She just sighed before turning to face Harry. "This."

She transformed in Harry, well almost, she did not have the spectacles. It was a good thing that Harry and Tonks's height were almost equal, although now her robe was a bit tight around the shoulders. Harry's eyes were about to pop out when he heard Hermione gasp.

"She can't do that, Sirius. Are you insane?" Hermione was the one to declare her opposition to the idea.

"If everyone is done criticising my idea, please give a better one." When there was no answer or input, he continued. "As I expected. I am going to tell this idea to Dumbledore and I hope he accepts otherwise all we could do is hope."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Nymphadora Tonks was standing in front of the entrance to Courtroom 10, waiting to be called in. The only issue was that she wasn't the one being expected on the other side of the door, it was Harry Potter. And to her misfortune, she had the ability to impersonate others. She right now hated this special talent. She was in a male dress robe, impersonating Harry Potter to a disciplinary hearing that too in front of the full bench of Wizengamot. She checked her form in the shining silver doorknob of the entrance.

Her clumsiness and the shift in her centre of mass wasn't a great combination, she had toppled a wizard in the pool of Fountain of Magical Brethren. It would have been hilarious from a third-person perspective but it was horrible and embarrassing from the first-person perspective. Mr. Weasley had to drag her away, she was certain that this was going to be on the Prophet tomorrow. For a moment, she was afraid that her hair might change colour. She needed to keep her emotions and thoughts in check.

Harry had told her all the details of the evening when Sirius told them that Dumbledore had reluctantly agreed to the idea. Dumbledore had also conveyed the message that Mrs. Figg would appear as an eyewitness to the incident, Tonks needed to be informed so that she would not get alarmed during the trial. Because when she gets surprised or shocked or any sudden shift in emotions, her hair changes colour to something more appropriate.

The doors to the courtroom opened and she was asked to enter. She walked in her best imitation of Harry and sat in the chair in the centre of the open area, Dumbledore was standing on the right-hand side of the chair. As she entered, a silence fell over the courtroom, every eye was now focussed on her. She could tell who were against Harry and who were moderates by their expressions and she did not feel very positive about the chances. There were around fifty of them and in the centre, Cornelius Fudge sat on an elevated chair. On his right were Dolores Umbridge and Amelia Bones, while on his left side sat Constantine Ogden and Percy Weasley.

"Accused is present for the Disciplinary Hearing of twenty-fourth of July, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. The interrogation panel for the case: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Constantine Sebastian Ogden, Chief Warlock of Wizengamot; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Court Scribe: Percy Ignatius Weasley." Fudge stopped before eyeing Dumbledore and continuing, "Defence Advocate: Albus Dumbledore."

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Dumbledore interrupted Fudge in middle to tell his full name, with every word being punctuated with a pause. Percy looked at the Minister for his confirmation before writing the name when Minister gave him an impatient nod. All the attention had suddenly shifted from her to Dumbledore.

Fudge pulled out a sheet of parchment from the file in front of him before reading the charges. "Harry Potter knowingly and deliberately produced a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, in the presence of a Muggle, on the twenty-fourth of July. The accused has previously received a written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge. The actions thus committed constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy."

"Are you Harry James Potter of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge asked in an angry tone.

"Yes." Harry/Tonks answered.

Before Fudge could ask another question, which he was surely going to ask, Dumbledore stepped in. "Pardon me, Minister but it is my understanding that before the interrogation begins, Defence is allowed to make a statement."

Fudge had to begrudgingly accept the objection and he gave a curt nod of acceptance to Dumbledore to continue. "On the evening of twenty-fourth of July, Harry Potter produced a Patronus Charm, in presence of his cousin, who is a muggle and is familiar with the wizarding world as Mr. Potter lives with the family. The only question here is about the intent and it is my duty to inform this respected body and its members that Harry Potter did what he had to save, not only himself but his cousin too, from a dementor attack."

Fudge scoffed at the statement but Dumbledore did not pause for that, he continued to stroll in front of the dais, his hands behind his back. "Clause Seven of the Decree states that magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances, and as those exceptional circumstances include situations which threaten the life of the wizard or witch him or herself, or any witches, wizards or Muggles present at the time of the incident. In the light of this, the defence would like the jury to consider the case. Defence rests."

"A very well thought-out lie and a well written script. I must say Dumbledore, you haven't lost your touch." It was Ogden who leaned forward and commented, his words drew a few smirks. "It is a well-known fact that muggles can't see dementors and to use such an idea is quite clever, no dementor sighting and no eyewitness, clever indeed."

"Oh, he is clever, but the dementors were really there." Harry/Tonks interjected and received glares from many of the members.

"The accused would refrain from speaking unless spoken to." Fudge chided Harry, he wasn't going to go easy on the boy. "Lying in Wizengamot is punishable and so is contempt of the court."

"On behalf of him, I apologize. And thank you, Chief Warlock for your kind words about my intellectual prowess." A few chuckles could be heard from the members. "However, I must clarify that there was indeed a witness present."

"That's rubbish, there is no other witch or wizard living in Little Whinging, Dumbledore." Fudge shouted, all pretence of civility was gone.

"Pardon me, Headmaster…." It was Madam Bones who interrupted the angry shouts. "The location has been monitored previously and there is no record of any witch or wizard living in the area."

"And the defence would assure you that your records are right." Dumbledore answered with a smile.

"See, he is contradicting himself. You don't have a witness if no witch or wizard was there." Fudge said with a menacing smile.

"The defence would like to bring this fact into the attention that witches and wizards are not the only ones who can see a dementor." Dumbledore stated humbly.

"Mr. Dumbledore, excuse me if I am incorrect, but Chief Warlock had already mentioned the fact that muggles can't see dementors. Forgive me Mr. Dumbledore but your thoughts are very foggy." It was the Pink-Toad Umbridge, her sickly-sweet voice was nauseous.

"In his great wisdom, Chief Warlock missed a minute point. Not only witches and wizards but squibs too can see dementors." Dumbledore was good at keeping a crowd spellbound with his words and he was doing that here too. "As there are no available records of squib registration, it might have missed Ministry's notice. Under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses and I would like to call the witness of defence."

"You may proceed." Amelia Bones was quite curious about it, she did not wait for anyone else's decision. A few moments later, an old woman in a purple robe walked in, it was clear that the robe had seen better days and hadn't seen sun in quite some time. Dumbledore flicked his wand and a stone chair appeared on Harry/Tonks's left.

"Please state your name." Amelia was now conducting the questioning while Fudge looked like he was slapped across the face. Umbridge and Ogden had such a look as if something disgusting was placed just under their noses.

"Arabella Doreen Figg."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

" _Cleared of all charges!_ "

Nymphadora was retelling the hearing to the audience that had gathered in Harry's new room. It seemed that Tonks had mastered the art of storytelling as she hadn't missed a detail yet and no one had asked a question, her talent at transforming into the person she was telling about was an asset. She had told how Dumbledore outfoxed the Ministry in constituting an investigating committee to look into the matter of dementor presence in Little Whinging. Ron fell out of chair laughing when she made Fudge's face when he had to clear Harry of all charges.

"I kid you not, I was so worried that I might morph while this was going on." Tonks was in good spirits and so was everyone else, they all were relieved that it was finally over and that too on a positive note. "Oh, and before I forget…."

Tonks walked up to the head of the bed, morphed and pecked Harry on the lips. Hermione gasped at the scene before she pushed Tonks away, everyone else was stunned, Harry even more so. "Get away! What are you doing?"

Hermione was clearly angry at Tonks actions but Tonks did not look ashamed, not even one bit. She was still in her morphed form; the form was of a very familiar person.

 _Susan Bones_

"That was from the morning, before the trial. Young Madam Bones was there to support Harry Potter." Tonks said with a mischievous smile, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively. It was Fred-George's turn to fall on the floor laughing, Harry and Hermione's faces were hilarious in that moment. Sirius was also in fits of laughter but Ron looked somewhat mortified.

"Never do that again Tonks, never." Hermione said in a very threatening voice.

"I apologize, Hermione. Couldn't miss the opportunity, could I?" Tonks's this nature was what made Hermione soft in her anger towards her. "She was waiting outside the courtroom when I arrived and she was surprised that Hermione wasn't there to support me, I mean him."

Tonks walked back to the desk where she was sitting while retelling the courtroom drama. "And that was the good luck kiss for our little Mr. Potter. She even wanted to spend the afternoon with you, had to tell that I wasn't feeling well."

"Looks like, Hermione needs to start telling people that they are back to snogging each other." One of the twins commented and that was enough to make the couple blush crimson. The other twin wasn't far behind, "although I think Harry wouldn't want that to be known."

Harry looked mortified and started to tell Hermione that that wasn't the case but he was fumbling with his words. Hermione had to kiss him to stop his efforts. "I know."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

 _ **Potter Cleared**_

 _By Regina Cogburn_

 _During the hearing that took place yesterday morning in front of the full bench of Wizengamot, Harry Potter was cleared of all charges of Underage Magic and violation of Statute of Secrecy. No party was available for comment after the hearing. The Ministry had release a brief press note that the charges have been dropped and Harry Potter's suspension from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been lifted with immediate effect._

 _The proceedings look unbiased from the outside but is it possible that those who voted in favour of Harry Potter's innocence weren't giving a preferential treatment due to his past. But we will never know the exact details behind the decision of those individuals present there._

"They aren't going to drop this soon, are they?" Ron said from where he was sitting on the dining table. It was his father who answered it for him, "Fudge isn't happy about it, he is quite angry at those who voted for Harry."

"He can't remove someone from Wizengamot, can he?" It was Bill who commented. Arthur turned to look at his oldest son, "no, he can't but he can fire those who hold an office. But he can't do that right now, he would face very strong backlash if he does that."

"Yeah, Purebloods are always fearful of losing their privileges." Sirius jumped into the discussion. He looked at Arthur before continuing, "Weasleys are a rare exception to this case."

"Thank you for that, Mr. Black." Arthur replied jovially. "So, when are we planning the trip to Diagon Alley?"

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It took a week's rest and 8 vials of different potions a day for Harry to return to full health. The only problem now was that the course of potions, that included dreamless sleep potion, was over and Harry was worried that if he did not use the dreamless sleep potion, he would again experience the nightmares and hallucinations. Hermione had told him and so had the heeler that it wasn't going to happen but Harry had a bad rapport with nightmares and he wasn't certain that it was going to change very soon.

It was emotionally very taxing for Harry when he told Hermione about the hallucinations he experienced while he was unconscious. Even Hermione was in tears, they just sat in Harry's bed, wrapped around each other, drawing comfort from the contact.

"Hermione?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione voice was as gentle and caring as ever.

"Will you promise me something?" Harry asked while leaning away from Hermione so he could see her face.

Hermione had a rough idea about what he would ask, "what is it?"

"Never take a curse for me." Harry said firmly, he didn't want to leave any room for discussion.

"Only if you promise the same." Hermione wasn't going to let him be the noble idiot.

"You know I can't promise that." Harry was starting to get irritated with her stubbornness.

"So, how can you expect it from me?" Hermione won't step back, she had decided.

"You don't understand, Hermione." Harry was about to snap at her but Hermione knew how to handle Harry's self-sacrificing line of thought. "It's not me Harry who don't understand, it's you, stupid."

She took a deep breath before continuing with her thoughts. "Harry, we already had had this discussion and do I need to remind you that I am going nowhere and that means if I need to stand between you and Voldemort than be it."

Harry was about to protest but Hermione silenced him by placing her hand over his lips, rather forcefully. "Save the words for some other time. Get this inside this thick skull of yours Harry Potter that I am going nowhere, no matter what and there is nothing you can do to make me leave. Do you understand that?"

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry would never have thought that he and Ron would complete their summer homework two weeks before they had to return. But a continuous nagging from Hermione and inability to go out and play quidditch had both of them doing their homework. By the late afternoon of eighteenth, Harry was done with his homework, Ron was towards the end of his too. The only subject Ron had left for later was Divination as it was the odd subject among the three.

Harry had sent a letter to Susan informing her that he, Hermione and Weasleys would be going to Diagon Alley the next day and to ask about the possibility of meeting her there. Hermione had sent a similar letter to Neville, although she had asked him to ask Hannah too. Harry, Hermione and Ron had decided that they would meet in Diagon Alley and celebrate Harry's birthday, Neville's too if he agreed to come. They haven't received a reply from either of them but Harry was hopeful that they would come. They will be in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor at noon where they are supposed to meet.

Harry was sitting on his desk, reading a book about practical dark arts defence techniques when Hermione tiptoed inside his room. She wanted to scare him, just as a joke so she stealthily moved closer to his chair and bent down to bring her lips level to his ears. She waited for a moment before she suddenly gripped his shoulder and shouted

"BOO!"

Hermione wasn't expecting the response she received, it wasn't much of a response but more like a solid reply. Harry had punched her in the face and she was thrown on the floor a few feet back. Harry realized one second too late that it was Hermione, he stood up from his chair and rushed to where Hermione was lying on the floor in a foetal position. He lifted her head and rested it on his shoulder, her hands were covering her face completely.

"I'm Sorry, I'm so sorry, Hermione." Harry tried to move away her hands but she wasn't letting him, he could feel the tears trickle down her hands. "Hermione, move your hands, let me see."

Harry used some force when she did not move her hands voluntarily, he bit his lower lip for stopping himself from flinching, she had a burst lip which was bleeding and it was beginning to swell. "It's alright, Hermione. Please don't cry, it's just a scratch."

"Why did you hit me?" Her voice was shaky and muffled as she had pressed her burst lip with her teeth to stop the bleeding, she started to sob. Harry looked ashamed as he should be, "I was reading about defence and there was this thing about defending against grip from behind then you startled me and I just reacted. I'm so sorry, Hermione, please forgive me."

Harry wasn't sure why she was crying that much, it was a small injury but what he forgot to take into account was that Hermione wasn't accustomed to take a beating and she must be shaken by his action. "We should go down, Mrs. Weasley would fix you up in a minute."

"No, Ron and twins would laugh." That made Harry chuckle, and he received an elbow in the ribs for that. Harry wasn't laughing on her but rather the way she sounded. "Ow! We need to get you patched up Hermione, that lip is going to get swollen."

"No." Hermione shook her head. She looked cute beyond imagination, Harry leaned in and kissed the edge of her mouth, his lips touching the bleeding one of Hermione's. A smirk was present on his face as he pulled away. Harry wasn't going to let her be unattended like that so he did the first thing that came to his mind, he lifted her up in bridal style. Hermione was surprised by his actions and in the fear of falling down, threw her arms around his neck which dysbalanced Harry. This and the weakness Harry still experienced, resulted in Harry stumbling backwards; they both collapsed on Harry's bed, laughing hard on the chain of events.

"At least that made you laugh." Harry said while attempting to regain his composure. "You need to get it healed, Hermione. Let's go!"

Hermione just nodded.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Hurry up you two, we are getting late." Mrs. Weasley was shouting which triggered the painting of Walburga Black. It was total chaos. It got even worse when the twins apparated just behind Mrs. Weasley. The pandemonium receded as mad-Eye and Mr. Weasley started to push everyone out of the House. Harry was walking between Hermione and Tonks in his brand-new clothes. Hermione's birthday gift to Harry was a suitcase filled with a collection of muggle clothes that fit him. She had told him that she had picked up everything with the help of Tonks from muggle London, although Sirius had paid for it; he had declined when Hermione offered to pay for it.

The outgoing party had planned that they would take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron a few blocks away from Grimmauld place. Within minutes, they were standing outside the creaking door of Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley didn't wait before pushing the horde inside.

"Over here!" Someone shouted from the crowd, it was Bill and as he stood up and everyone turned in his direction, they noticed the beautiful face of Fleur Delacour. They were sitting at one of the small tables in a corner. It took them sometime to navigate through the dense crowd but Mrs. Weasley was accustomed to get her way.

"Hey Fleur!" One of the twins outstretched his hand, the other wasn't far behind, "As beautiful as ever."

"Merci", she shook their outstretched hands before turning to Harry. She pulled him in a tight hug that had Hermione giving her an irritated look and had Harry blushing. "Nice to zee you, 'Arry."

"It's good to see you too, Fleur." Harry said as he pulled away from the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"We can talk outside, it's getting crowded here." Bill said from his towering height before nudging everyone outside towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. "Harry, can I talk to you for a second?"

Harry waited behind while the others walked out. Bill put an arm around Harry's shoulder and directed him to a corner, He handed him two leather pouches and a small book. "A hundred galleons from your vault, as you asked. A hundred galleons from Padfoot's vault and a 20 page draft book for payments, as he asked. And you are not supposed to pay from your pouch of galleons, Padfoot's instruction and the draft book is also linked to his account so use that."

Harry was about to say something when Bill raised his hand to stop the upcoming protest. "I am just doing what Padfoot asked me to do, you should talk to him if you don't like it."

They walked out of the corridor leading to the magical street of Diagon Alley, it was as busy as ever. Mad-eye, Hermione, Ron, Tonks and Fleur were waiting for them while the others had gone their different way. It was decided earlier that Mad-Eye and Tonks would stay with Harry during his trip to London, Ron and Hermione were going to accompany Harry anyway. The twins were adults and had somehow got the point across that they did not need a chauffeur. Ginny was with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They had planned to regroup at noon, which was two hours away, for Harry's birthday celebration at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The group was to leave by three in the afternoon, the same way they arrived.

"What are you doing here, Fleur?" Harry asked, still confused. Fleur was walking alongside Bill who was walking in front of Harry and Hermione, Ron was behind Harry, with Tonks to accompany her, Mad-Eye was bringing the rear.

"I got a job at Gringottz." She answered, her accent was somewhat less than the last time they met.

"We know that but he meant was what you are doing here right now." Hermione replied, her face had taken a questioning look.

"Bill said it would be surprize for 'Arry. Bill izz my guide for the next two months 'ere." Fleur asked, she had a beaming smile on her face which made her look even more beautiful.

"You knew about her?" Harry asked to Hermione, he was surprised that Hermione knew about Fleur's job in London. Hermione looked at him in confusion, "didn't I tell you that? She wanted to help so Dumbledore inducted her in the order, that's why she moved to London."

"No, you didn't. Anyway, congrats Fleur and I hope you like it here." Harry wished genuinely.

"Oh, she is liking it enough already." It was Tonks who commented from behind, as Harry turned to look at her, she gave an exaggerated wink. Ron was the only one who looked uncertain about the meaning so he asked Hermione very quietly. Hermione chuckled before giving him the explanation. Fleur and Bill walking quite closely was a big clue.

"We will see you at noon." With that Bill and Fleur entered the Gringotts building, leaving the trio with Mad-Eye and Tonks.

"So, where to first?" Tonks asked excitedly.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Hannah was being dragged down Diagon Alley by her hand because Susan thought she was going to be late to Harry Potter's belated birthday party. Hannah wanted to go to Diagon Alley a couple of hours ago with Neville but Susan had begged her to go with her. And here she was, fifteen minutes early, standing in front of the ice-cream parlour. Susan looked quite excited and anxious at the same time, very rare combination and yet Hannah could see it. She wasn't sure about the reason, well not exactly, all she could gather was that Susan was in high spirits since Harry' hearing. Hannah just assumed that it was because of its judgement.

On the other hand, Susan's mind was busy playing thousand possible scenarios. When Harry told her before leaving from Hogwarts that he and Hermione had broken up, Susan wouldn't say that she was happy because she wasn't, but there was some hope for her now, hope for her and Harry. She was worried when her mail couldn't reach Harry, she was unable to tell him that everything would be fine, to support him whatever mental turmoil he was going through after Cedric's death. When her aunt had told her about Harry's accident, she was on the verge of a panic attack. The hours between her aunt telling her about the accident and her seeing Harry were the worst. Every moment, she was hoping that he was ok, it was painful in a way. So, when she finally saw him in the hospital, all she felt was relief, relief that he was alive and there were no major external signs of accident, he was in a magical coma. She was feeling jealous that Hermione was there, so close to him, but this feeling was buried under the immense relief.

Susan haven't inquired about where Harry and Hermione's relationship stood, that wasn't important then. She wanted to stay with him, be there when he wakes up, but it would have been difficult for her to see Hermione holding Harry's hand even when he was asleep. There was still a small hope inside her that it was just because the depth of their friendship and that Harry and Hermione were not a couple anymore.

Susan was waiting for her aunt the morning of Harry's trial, she wanted to meet him before the trial, to wish him good luck. Her aunt didn't agree immediately but relented when she pleaded. Her aunt had left her standing in the corridor leading to the entrance to the courtroom to wait for Harry. The happiness she felt when she saw Harry walking down the corridor towards her, his almost steady walk indicating that his health was improving, she ran to him and almost tackled him. He had grown taller and she had to stand on her tiptoes to hug him properly. He looked startled and she could not stop giggling at his expression. In her excitement, she had kissed him, she was then worried that he would push her and that would be the end of her friendship with him but he did no such thing. He didn't kiss her back but he didn't push her away either.

She took it as a clue that he didn't have any problem with that, although she had to tell him that it was just a good luck kiss, for the hearing as Hermione wasn't there to give him one. He had still looked stunned and it was a good thing as he ignored the deep blush that adorned Susan's face. When the hearing was over and he told her that he was cleared of all charges, she wanted to celebrate this with him that afternoon. He had told her that he needed to get back home, he still had to follow a timetable for his potions and he was exhausted from the trial. She didn't push him, she knew he must be drained after the trail, she didn't want to aggrieve his health issues.

Susan almost jumped from the couch when she read Harry's letter, she was invited to his birthday party and she wasn't going to miss it for the world. She had floo-called Hannah that very moment to inform her about it. She was told by Hannah that Neville had already asked her to go to Diagon Alley with her but Susan had to ask Hannah to be with her, Hannah had agreed easily and so had Neville. Those two had spent quite some time together this summer anyway and majority of that time had come from Susan-Hannah quota. Hannah had many times asked Susan to accompany Neville and her and a couple of times she had but Susan understood that Neville and Hannah would prefer to spend their time together, alone. Although the three of them had spent almost every weekend together, that was something that hadn't changed much.

It was a lonely summer for her compared to the past years. Her aunt was extremely busy this time with the Ministry and Wizengamot, Hannah and Neville were busy, Harry was out of reach, her other housemates were either enjoying their holidays outside England or were busy doing something, Justin was on a month-long trip to continent with his family, Ernie was working with his mother in her art workshop/studio. To utilize her time, Susan had started to learn more healing charms and spells, she had practiced brewing medical potions and she had tried to learn more about other handy spells.

She was brought out of her musings when Hannah suddenly stood up, "hey, you."

Next moment, Hannah had pulled the boy in a tight hug and pecked him on the lips, the boy was turned red in face and unable of speech.

"Get a room, you two." It was Ron, he was walking towards the group from the opposite direction, Harry and Hermione were a couple of steps behind him. There were two people walking behind them, she recognized the DADA professor from last year, it took a moment for her to recognize the other one. She had met the auror once in passing when the auror had come for some signature, she could not remember her name but she remembered that it was something different.

"Hey, Susan." Harry stretched out his hand for her which she shook before giving Hermione a quick hug. Harry moved ahead to give Neville a hug and shook Hannah's hand. It was Hermione who spoke next, "we should all sit inside the parlour, there are more people to come and there aren't enough chairs outside."

"Please give your orders quickly, I'm hungry." Ron said impatiently, that got a chuckle from Neville.

Hermione wasn't impressed, "we will wait for the others, Ron."

"Hey! It's your mistake, if we haven't spent one hour in the bookshop, I wouldn't be this hungry." Ron replied with the same tone.

"You are always hungry, Ron, it's not her mistake." Harry defended Hermione here, he had a big smile on his face.

"You are one to talk, you didn't want to leave either." Ron turned to look at Neville, "I'm telling you, she is rubbing onto him."

"It's good that rubbing is all they are doing." Tonks commented with an exaggerated wink.

"Ew, Tonks, you are incorrigible." Hermione chided her. Tonks was with the teenagers, inside the parlour while Moody stood outside. Ron was the one to introduce the three non-trio teenagers to Tonks and the other way around. Susan told her that she remembered her but not her name, although Tonks remembered exactly who Susan was.

"Susan, can I talk to you for a second?" Harry asked rising from his chair. Susan just nodded before they walked to an empty table in the corner. They sat across each other so they could talk properly. "There is something I wanted to tell you about?"

Susan's heartbeat picked up some speed, she was thinking about may be Harry would like to ask her for a date, maybe he was thinking about her these past few days, maybe he and Hermione were over for good. "What is it, Harry? You know you can talk to me freely, right?"

Harry rested both his elbows on the table before leaning in, Susan leaned in too. "Before the hearing…. You…. I mean, we…."

Harry was not very sure how to approach the subject while Susan was getting anxious with every passing moment. "Hmm."

"Susan, I am going to tell you something and I want you to keep this between us only." Harry said, he had a serious expression. Susan's heart was fluttering, her fingers were crossed, she was hoping that he might take a step closer towards her. "Tonks is a metamorphmagus."

"What?" Susan was shocked, her brain was now jumbled even more. 'What the hell was he talking about', she was thinking and she asked him the same thing.

"Susan, please promise me that it will remain between us." Harry asked her again. She gave him an impatient nod and asked him to continue with whatever he wanted to tell her. "I wasn't fit enough on the day of the hearing so Tonks morphed into me and went to the hearing in my place."

Whatever colour she had had left her face that very moment, she was blushing a moment ago and now she looked as pale as ghost. "She told you what happened?"

Harry just nodded so Susan continued, "everything?"

She again received a nod, "even the kiss?"

When he nodded again, she buried her face in her palms, "I kissed her instead of you?"

"It's ok Susan, you didn't know and I am sure it was just a peck. So, no harm done, right?" Harry asked, even he was now slightly puzzled by Susan's last statement. "By the way, thanks for being there to support me."

Susan just nodded before giving him a smile that might have been heartfelt but it did not seem like it. "You owe me a kiss, Potter."

Harry chuckled at her reaction, "I don't know how Hermione would feel about that."

"Don't worry we would find someplace private." Susan replied with a mischievous smile. They returned to join the group.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

' _To Harry_!'

Everyone raised their drinks, almost all of Harry's friends were here, well except Padfoot and Moony and the Weasley couple. They had a lot of fun, twins made sure of that and the butt of majority of their jokes and pranks were either Tonks, Fleur or Ron. It was a good thing that they did not mind it much, well except Ron but he had grown accustomed to being at the receiving end of twins' pranks and jokes. They had seen that Bill was quite funny too although he made sure that he did not laugh too hard at Fleur.

All in all, they had enjoyed, most of all Harry. It was refreshing for him to be surrounded with his friends, with people who cared for him, people had and who will stand by him. He was happy to share these light moments with the people he counted as his closest friends.

He would miss this in school.

A/N: How does it sound? Do you like it? Yes? No? Either way, Please Review.


	23. B2: Chapter 23 - Train to Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter is extremely slow and I apologize if you get bored but please read it till the end, there are a couple of surprises.

Please Review.

Chapter Twenty-three: Train to Hogsmeade

The dark-haired wizard was sitting in the compartment of the Hogwarts Express, having an unexpected company with an unusual name, Luna Lovegood. His two best friends were busy with their prefect duties. Neville was in the compartment but he and his girlfriend were talking quietly in the corner. Susan was in the prefects' meeting with Hermione and Ron.

Harry was leaning against the glass window, watching the scenery move past. Initially, he was feeling uncomfortable due to Luna's continuously focussed gaze. But he had other things on his mind to delve any longer on it. He was thinking about what had been happening in the past few days.

 _Harry knocked on the door to his godfather's study, unsure of the reason for being called there. He entered the room to find Sirius sitting in the chair behind the desk, his face expressionless. "What is it, Sirius? Is everything alright?"_

" _Sit down, Harry, I need to talk to you." Sirius gestured him to take the seat while he opened the desk drawer, he pulled out something wrapped in a brown paper and placed it on the desktop. It was flat and wasn't very thick, Harry assumed it to be a book. Sirius pushed it towards Harry who picked the package gingerly. "What is it, Sirius?"_

" _Open it." Sirius instructed with a nod, a small smile slowly creeping onto his face. Harry tore open the package only to find a mirror in it, it was as big as a regular journal. "A mirror?"_

 _That drew a chuckle from Sirius who pulled out an identical one from the drawer and held it in front of him. "I have the other half of the pair."_

" _Sirius, are you playing a prank on me?" Harry looked around the room but found no traces of anything out of place. Sirius could not hold his laughter after seeing Harry's reaction._

" _They are charmed, Harry. That one…." He pointed to the one in Harry's hand, "…. Was your father's and this one mine. We charmed them so we can talk during summer."_

 _Harry's eyebrows raised to almost the limit of his forehead, his grip on the mirror tightened a bit. Sirius leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk before he looked directly in Harry's eyes. "You know the password, say it and call my name."_

 _Harry drew his wand from the wrist holster before he pointed it at the mirror in his hand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_

 _The mirror surface turned foggy as if a smoke was rising from within, Harry looked in the fog before calling Sirius. "Sirius Black!"_

 _The fog was no more there, the only thing that Harry could see was Sirius's smiling face. Sirius wiggled his eyebrows as he watched the amazed look on Harry's face._

" _How did you like your birthday gift?" Sirius asked with a broad smile on his face. "It took Moony quite an effort to accomplish this."_

" _Moony made these?" Harry asked with wide eyes._

" _He had knack for charms during our school years, Remus and your mother were Flitwick's favourites, apart from the 'claws, of course. I don't know how he got Lily to help him make these. This was our gift, mine and your father's, for our fourth or fifth Christmas in Hogwarts, can't remember exactly which one though." Sirius answered in detail. He could see Harry was intently listening to every word he said. "Now we can talk whenever you feel like it."_

 _Harry rose from his chair and moved towards Sirius to give him a hug. Sirius pulled back a few moments later as Harry was thanking him continuously. "I have something else too."_

 _This time Sirius pulled out something with leather straps and buckles, it was a sheathed dagger. The handle was of silver with intricate wine like design carved on it. A closer inspection showed that the wines were actually snakes in Slytherin-green. Harry gently unsheathed the dagger and was amazed by its blade. It wasn't a long blade, au contraire, it looked quite delicate but as sharp as any dagger. What amazed Harry wasn't the sharpness rather the colour and texture of the material. It wasn't metallic, it looked like some kind of ivory but it wasn't completely white either. It was a fusion of black and white._

" _It's a heirloom, if you haven't guessed already." Sirius commented, "You see that blade, it was made by fusing bones of a Thestral and a Unicorn. A rarest of rare creation. When Hermiones asks 'how it was made' please tell her that I had no idea."_

 _Harry chuckled and so did Sirius, he wanted to ask what a Thestral was but he decided to push it out of his mind for the moment. "Why are you giving this to me?"_

" _The blade has some magical powers, the blade will perpetually remain sharp, it can penetrate the hardest armours. Although that's not the reason I'm giving you this." Sirius took the blade from Harry and held it delicately. "It can open doors your wands can't."_

 _He paused for a moment before continuing. "I don't want you to get stuck somewhere you don't want to get stuck."_

 _Harry understood what Sirius wanted to say and where this thought came from. He just gave a solemn nod before taking the dagger back and sheathing it. Sirius looked up from the heirloom to look at Harry, "always keep it with you"._

He did not raise his head from the glass panel but his hand gently moved to the dagger which was tied on his waist, under the cloak. His other hand moved to the breast pocket where the enchanted mirror was. Not even 3 hours had passed since the train departed and yet he found himself missing Sirius. He so badly wanted to pull the mirror out and talk to Sirius but he knew that it wasn't possible. His mind drifted back to the platform.

Sirius had finally got a chance to step out of that haunted house he inherited. He came to see Harry off to Hogwarts againsts continuous protests from Mad-Eye and Mrs. Weasley, although he remained in his animagus form throughout. He was noticed by the people on the platform, not because he was accompanying Harry but because of his behaviour. He was acting like a over-excited happy dog. The extent of him being noticed was that even Malfoy commented on it.

It took a moment for Harry to realize that Malfoy might know that it was Sirius, if Wormtail had broadcast the secret of their animagus forms. The smile of his faded as the realization seeped in. It was a good thing that there wasn't much time to stand around on the platform, thanks to the Weasley habit of arriving 'fashionably late'.

He was left in the compartment with Ginny and the other Ravenclaw girl, Neville and Hannah had arrived late when Susan left them to go to the prefects' meeting. Ginny had left soon after to meet her friends. He had talked to the couple for a few minutes but he wasn't in a very chatty mood. So he just sat there with his head resting on the glass panel of the window. His mind and thoughts moving faster than the scenery outside. His head snapped towards the door of the compartment as he heard it open. His remaining friends entered.

"How can they do this?" Hermione said it angrily and plopped down near Harry. He moved closer to her, her arms folded in front of her chest, her head resting on his shoulder. He was left confused about the reason of this outburst.

"They had to pick someone from fifth-year from their house." Susan answered, stating the fact but there was no defensiveness. She sat next to Hermione, her face hid her real reaction pretty well.

"What got you guys so pissed?" Hannah asked in her jovial tone.

"Let me ask you a question first, 'guess who is the Slytherin prefect'." Hermione asked in a mockingly excited tone.

"Who?" Neville asked back but he was cut-off by Hannah, "you are kidding, right?" "And as if it wasn't enough, they made that Parkinson cow the female-prefect." Ron was the one to answer. He was left with no option but to sit next to Luna.

"Well, it was between him and Nott. The others in their house are just oafs." Susan continued. "Its logical that they would pick Malfoy for the male-prefect position."

"Malfoy is the Slytherin prefect?" Neville asked, a look of shock and fear evident on his face.

This was the sign of a screwed-up year, even before the year started.

"He is quite cute." The Lovegood girl said without any expression. Her eyes unfocussed and looking in distance. Everyone had a shocked expression, except Hannah who was laughing out loud. She would have fallen on the ground if it wasn't for Neville.

"My name is Luna Lovegood, people call me Loony." The unusual girl said to no one in particular in her dreamy voice.

"What are you reading?" Susan asked in a distracted tone.

"It's Quibbler." Luna answered without looking up from her inverted magazine.

"Huh! Its just illogical conspiracy theory compilation with nonsense stories. How can anyone in their right mind would publish something like this." Hermione replied, her anger over Malfoy was shifted now to the publication.

"My father is the editor-publisher of Quibbler." Luna replied, her lips forming a thin line, the first reaction out of her. Hermione was left without a reply, her mouth was imitating a goldfish and Ron burst out laughing.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry had just stepped out of the Hogsmeade Station, their group was the last one to disembark and as a result they were left with just one carriage. Ginny had also joined the group towards the end of the journey so now they were eight people and the carriage could just sit six. Harry didn't see Hagrid on the platform, he thought that the half-giant already left with the first years.

Luna went ahead and sat in the carriage, leaving the group of seven to discuss how to manage. Harry wasn't participating in the discussion, his attention was somewhere else. He walked to the front of the carriage, a look of utter confusion and disbelief on his face. "Hermione, what is pulling the carriage?"

"What?" Hermione asked back, she was busy explaining to Susan why it would be the best idea if Hermione herself would accompany Harry and they would walk to the castle.

"What is pulling the carriage, Hermione?" Harry asked again, there was something about these winged skeletal creatures with grey skin that was pulling Harry towards them. The black orbs of their eyes were so captivating that Harry was unable to look away, there was something so deep that he could not understand nor he could explain.

"Nothing is pulling the carriage, Harry. They operate on their own." Hermione answered in a gentle manner.

"No, look, it's here. This... this creature is pulling it, can't you see?" Harry asked again, still not looking back towards Hermione.

"Harry..." Hermione started to answer but she was cut off by Luna. "I can also see them, you are not going mad. You are as sane as I am."

This wasn't something Harry wanted to hear, it made him more confused and worried. He didn't get time to ponder over it any longer as Hermione slowly pulled him away by his elbow, "Harry, can I talk to you, alone?"

As Harry gave an affirmative nod, Hermione asked the others to leave with the carriage and to take their luggage along. Once the carriage was on it's way, she turned towards Harry and took his right hand in her left, their fingers entwining. They started to walk with a leisurely pace, her right hand then coiled around his arm. "We will see him soon, Harry. We will see them all soon."

Harry gave a dry chuckle, he was glad that Hermione knew what to say and when. "I just miss it, Hermione."

"I miss it too." Hermione answered and rested her head on his shoulder, Harry rested his over hers, his left hand stuffed inside his robes toying with the hilt of the dagger.

"Don't you miss them, Hermione, your parents?" Harry asked calmly, his head turning to look at her. She didn't look up, there was a dry chuckle escaping her. "God knows I do, Harry. I miss them dearly. I have been with them for only 4 days since the Quidditch World Cup last year."

"You should spent more time with them, Hermione. I don't want you to waste your time with me instead of spending with them." Harry replied earnestly.

"Why? Got bored of spending time with me already?" Hermione asked, poking him in the ribs. Harry was on the defensive the next moment, "I didn't mean that."

"I know, Harry." Hermione giggled lightly, "Mum sent a letter yesterday, they have planned a trip to Switzerland for skiing during Christmas holidays."

"That's great. I didn't know you could ski." Harry answered amusedly. He was slowly realizing that there were many layers of personality underneath this bookworm persona of his girlfriend. The rest of the walk was spent in a comfortable silence.

They were late but they did not have to face any issue as the teacher who was given the duty to receive the students was Madam Sprout. Any other teacher and they would have lost significant amount of points even before the start-of-the-term feast but all they received was a word of caution.

As they entered the entrance hall, they noticed that the hall was still unsettled, teachers hadn't taken their seats and the students were busy mingling with their friends after the long summer break. It didn't remain that way for long as the teachers entered from the back-door. The only teachers absent from the teachers' party were Hagrid, McGonagall and the new DADA professor. Hagrid had the job of escorting the first-years via the boats and McGonagall must be waiting outside the closed oak double-doors for them. Harry's eyes travelled across the teachers' table, he couldn't help but notice the perpetual scowl-snear on Snape's face, he also noticed that Dumbledore wasn't looking towards him, not even for a moment. He noticed that Dumbledore's eyes travelled just past Hermione but he was ignored by the old-wizard.

Once the headmaster was seated, everyone assumed their seats. A few moments later, McGonagall entered the Great Hall and the sorting ceremony officially began. The strength of the new students was less than fifty and a big chunk of it went to Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The students sorted into Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were on the lower side of double-digit figure, each.

"Where is Hagrid?" Harry asked Ron, he had scanned the teachers' table but there was no sign of him.

"Dunno. Grubbly-Plank escorted the first-years." Neville answered.

"He must be away for Order." Ron commented and received understanding nods from Harry and Hermione. "Can't they just already serve the feast!"

Dumbledore has just risen to the podium to address the assembled students. He opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, "To the first-years, welcome to Hogwarts. To the students returning to the castle, welcome back."

"I know you are all waiting for the feast to begin but there are a few important announcements to be made." His mannerism was devoid of any humour and it was clearly visible to almost everyone. "Due to some unavoidable reasons, there are a couple of changes in the staff this year. Prof. Grubbly-Plank has accepted to teach Care of Magical Creatures until Prof. Hagrid returns from his leave."

There were murmurs around the Great Hall, not many of which were on the sad side of spectrum. Dumbledore continued with his announcement, "The other change in the teaching staff is for the post of the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. It is my pleasure to introduce you to the new professor, please welcome, Madam Amelia Bones."

Every head snapped towards the door to the ante-chamber behind the teachers' table. On the threshold stood Madam Bones in a black and gold robe and a black hat. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville turned towards Susan with a questioning look. The shocked look was enough to tell that she was unaware and her mouthing the words 'I didn't know' sealed the deal for them. Madam Bones walked upto the empty seat between McGonagall and Sprout, she sat after giving a curt bow to the students. This was accompanied by a round of applause from around half the population, the other half remained silent. It was clear that not all of them had very good image of the new DADA professor.

"Apart from this, everyone must be aware by now that the forbidden forest is strictly beyond limits and it would do you good to keep that in mind. Moreover, Mr. Filtch had asked me to remind you that there are four-hundred and ninety two items which are banned. The list would be posted in the common-room notice boards soon."

"Please, enjoy the feast!" He gave a small nod and food appeared on the long tables.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Get up Ron! We need to show the first-years the way to the common-room." She rose from her seat and gave a gentle smile to Harry before turning towards the first-years. Ron rose from his seat with a protesting demeanour and turned towards the first years, "hey midgets! Over here!"

He received a sideways swat to his shoulder, courtesy Hermione. "Oww, what's wrong with you?"

"First-years, please follow me." She turned on her heal and the first-years followed her like sheep, Ron brought the rear.

Harry did not notice Neville walking towards Hannah as he was busy looking at the bobbing mass of bushy-brown hair that was his girlfriend's head.

"Good night, Harry!" He was brought out of his daydream by the young Ms. Bones.

"Good night, Susan." He waved back to her as she led the Hufflepuff first-years out of the Great Hall. He was one of the last ones to leave the Great Hall, there weren't many from his house left behind in the Great Hall. He didn't come across anyone on his way to the common room, quite unexpectedly. So, he took the opportunity to talk to his godfather. He took a detour and entered a deserted corridor before pulling out the mirror from the breast-pocket of his cloak.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He waited a moment before uttering 'Sirius Black'.

A couple of seconds later, a bearded but elegant face appeared on the other side. "What's up, pup?"

"Hello Padfoot." Harry paused, this was the first time he was feeling homesick at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was supposed to be his home and it had been for the last four years but this summer had changed that significantly. This summer had given him a glimpse of what it could have been. And that longing won't just fade away instantly.

"Awww, missing me already, pup?" Sirius asked in a mocking voice.

"You wish." Harry replied jokingly, the marauder spirit bubbling. "And how is the old dog?"

"Where is Hermione?" Sirius asked in a more serious tone. "I hoped that you would wait for her before calling me."

"I wanted to, but she is busy with her prefect duties and I couldn't wait." Harry answered truthfully.

"So, what's new at Hogwarts? Who is the new DADA seat-filler." Sirius quizzed him.

"Madam Bones, it was a huge surprise, even to Susan, you know." Harry answered with an amused look, it was reflected on the features of Sirius too. The conversation was interrupted when Harry heard footsteps approaching. He stuffed the mirror in his pocket in a haphazard manner and turned towards the source, only to find Hermione standing at the entrance to the corridor with the marauders' map in her hand.

"Sorry. You didn't come to the common-room so..." She waved the map in an explaining way. Harry gave a sigh of relief and pulled the mirror back while Hermione 'Mischief Manage'-ed it before handing it to Harry. Harry stuffed it into his pocket without looking up from the mirror where a confused Sirius was looking out. "What Happened?"

In response Harry just turned the mirror towards Hermione, "hey Sirius."

"Hey Ms. 'brightest-witch-of-the-age', enjoying your prefect authority?" Sirius asked the Gryffindor female-prefect.

"Very much, thank you." Hermione replied in a mockingly clipped tone. "And how is the old dog?"

Sirius just chuckled at the response and received a questioning look from Hermione. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"No,no dear, you just repeated Harry, that's all." Sirius replied.

"I think we should go Harry, its close to curfew time." Hermione rested her hand on his arm to emphasize her point. "We will talk to you later Sirius, good night."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Hermione gave the password to the painting of the Fat Lady but the scene that waited for them on the other side left both of them perplexed and speechless. Ron was being pulled away by Neville and the twins while Seamus was being pacified by Dean, Parvati and Lavender. Both, Ron and Seamus had dishevelled look, Ron had a burst lip and bloody nose while Seamus had a cut on his left cheek and a rapidly swelling eye.

The evidence of a scuffle were as fresh as a morning mist when McGonagall entered the common-room, behind Harry and Hermione, accompanied by Dennis Creevey. Harry and Hermione stepped out of her path as she strode to the eye of the storm, a look of pure fury adorning her face. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Finnigan, to my office, NOW!"

As they both left the common-room with red faces, McGonagall turned to the remaining students of her house. "It pains me to say this but I am ashamed of this kind of behaviour from my house. I hope that it won't be repeated in future or else the consequences would be dire for you. Everyone, off to your dormitories, NOW!"

As she gave the command and turned to leave, there was a rush to climb the stairs to the dormitory and in less than a minute, the common-room was left bare, except for a few students. Hermione, Harry, Neville, Twins, Ginny, Dean, Parvati and Lavender were the only ones left behind and there was a good reason for it.

"What happened here?" Hermione was the one to ask, true to her nature. Although the question was directed at Ginny, twins and Neville, the answer came from Lavender. "You keep your hound on a leash or better muzzle it."

"Shut your mouth, you bitch." Ginny retorted, her ears were turning as red as her hair.

"Why? Only you people can say what you want?" Parvati jumped in the defence of her best-friend.

"We are telling you..." (Gred)

"... You are going way beyond the limit." (Forge)

"Oh yeah? I believe, we don't need a lesson from you two about staying in limits." Dean replied.

"Gred, I think he needs to remember who the beaters for the house are." (Forge)

"You are absolutely correct, Forge, he might need a demonstration soon." (Gred)

"Lavender, Parvati, Dean, please leave. I'm asking you as a prefect." Hermione asked but there was no room for discussion. The tension diffused as the three Gryffindors climbed the stairs to their respective dormitories. "Neville, please tell me what's going on here?"

"It's nothing, Hermione. Everything just got blown out of proportion." Neville answered and took half a step back subconsciously. "There was just some argument."

"About what?" Harry interjected for the first time since he entered the common-room.

"Well..." Neville was reluctant to answer, so Ginny helped him out. "About you, actually."

Harry was baffled by the response and he didn't try to hide it. "What did I do?"

"You don't need to do anything, Harry, it wasn't your doing and it wasn't your fault." Ginny replied with a shake of her head. "Some people are too gullible, naive and plain dumb. You don't need to worry yourself over them."

Ginny walked away from the group towards her dormitory. Next to leave were the twins, "We need to catch a good night's sleep before the dreaded year begins."

The three fifth-year Gryffindors had the common-room to themselves so they waited for the fourth member of the group, Harry and Hermione occupied the couch while Neville took the chair on the left. The only sound in the common-room was the crackling of fire, all three were deep in their thoughts and a silence enveloped the worried state of the three teenagers. A few minutes later, Seamus entered the common-room and without giving them a second glance, stepped on the stairs leading to the fifth-year dormitory.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Mr. Weasley, please shut the door behind you." McGonagall commanded once Seamus had been dismissed. Ron obeyed the command without any hesitation, he could sense that any mistake on his part now would be extremely dangerous for his future.

"Take a seat, Mr. Weasley and please tell why you were given the prefect position." McGonagall asked a bit puzzled Ron, his expressions were enough for her. "So, the thought had already crossed your mind."

She opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small cardboard box and slid it towards Ron. "Have a biscuit Mr. Weasley."

Ron would have never hesitated when food was offered but right now he was way beyond his limit of being confused and that left him imitating a goldfish. McGonagall understood his situation and opened the lid of the box before pushing it towards him. "Have a biscuit Mr. Weasley."

This time Ron complied but a plethora of questions were going through his mind. McGonagall sighed before continuing with her thoughts, "You might have known this Mr. Weasley that prefects are picked by the head of the house, but this year, headmaster overruled one of my choices. You might have guessed who my choice was."

Ron couldn't understand why he was being given an explanation of him being picked as a prefect, although he understood towards whom McGonagall was hinting. He just nodded before picking a biscuit from the box.

"I don't agree with headmaster's choice and your actions certainly did not help your case. The reason headmaster gave, did not resonate with me, I have tried the same before and it had failed spectacularly and I would accept the error in my judgement then." She stood up from her place and walked towards the fireplace in her office where a small fire was burning. "He believed that you being a prefect would help keep Mr. Potter out of trouble just like what Mr. Lupin did for Mr. Potter's father."

There was a soft chuckle at the end of her sentence which was so faint that nobody except herself could hear it. "All that did was, it made their pranks even more refined and untraceable. Although, the only good thing that came out of it was that it brought a sense of self-confidence in Mr. Lupin."

She turned to look at the youngest Weasley boy, "I hope it brings a sense of responsibility in you, Mr. Weasley. But your actions today do not fill me with hope towards that end."

"I'm sorry, professor." Ron replied with his head bowing down. He could feel the anger and disappointment towards him in McGonagall's words and voice. McGonagall did not give him any opportunity to extend his spell of misery, "Being sorry won't help your case, Mr. Weasley. You need to behave more responsibly in the future and Merlin forbid, if I find you behaving this way again, I won't hesitate in taking the badge away. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal." Ron answered quickly.

"Off you go then." Ron did not waste another moment before walking out of the head of the house's office. The moment he stepped out of the office, the door closed shut behind him, leaving him alone in the dark corridor leading towards his common-room.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was the first to look up when he heard the portrait opening. Without uttering a single word, Ron walked across the common-room and plopped down on the chair across from Neville.

It was Hermione who broke the silence, "let's hear what happened!"

"Seamus opened his eating-hole too wide." Ron answered, his head tilted back, resting on the head of the chair.

"Language Ronald!" Hermione chastised him immediately. "Now, what happened and don't talk in circles."

"Seamus was telling lies to others in the common-room about Harry and what happened since..." Ron did not put the last part in words and he didn't have to. Harry and Hermione understood what he wanted to say and it brought a darkness over their features. Ron continued with his retelling of his actions, "He said that his mother believes that Harry and Dumbledore both are liars and mental. I tried to get him to shut up but it got out of hand and we got in a fist-fight."

"I admire you defending Harry, I really do but can you be less foolish in future?" Hermione commented.

"Hey!" Ron protested and so did Harry, "Yes, hey! For the last part."

"Don't be thick, Harry. Ron is a prefect and he could very well have used his position to ask him to stop it. Him being involved in a fist-fight doesn't show him and by association, you in good light. We need to be better than them if we want to be seen as the right side." Hermione gave a long explanation without a pause. "You can't defend yourself against a mad-dog by biting it."

"There is no such expression in literature as 'biting a mad-dog', Hermione." Harry replied to her comments.

"It seems you have read a lot of literature, Mr. Potter. And for your kind information, I am quite familiar with nuances of English literature." Hermione defended herself.

"I don't know Hermione if 'Hogwarts, a history' can be counted as literature." Ron was the one to join the banter.

"You take that back, Ronald!"

That was it for Neville as he burst out laughing, the tension was diffused somewhat, although for the time-being.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Madam Bones had just finished going through the lecture notes McGonagall had so generously provided on a short notice. She bottomed up the remaining contents of her wine glass before and gently placed it back on the table before leaning back in her couch.

The last two days had been a blur for her, too much had happened and she wasn't sure exactly how it had come to this. She looked back at the notes spread over the table top, they belonged to her two predecessors, namely Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin. She now knew that the 'Moody' who taught here last time wasn't the Moody she knew but an imposter. The professor before him was someone she did not know properly.

She knew that he was a good person and one of the closest friends of Sirius. She did not have much contact with him, even in school. He was a member of the stupidly named group, everyone knew that most of the pranks were their doing and by the end of her sixth year, senior students from Hufflepuff knew about Lupin's 'furry little problem' (Sirius's words, not hers). Hufflepuffs are smarter than what others give them credit for. She was surprised that not many from other houses did know, Slytherins wouldn't have given a fraction of a second to think about a Gryffindor, Ravenclaws were busy in expanding their knowledge and academic horizon, Gryffindors were busy trying to get a place on the Quidditch team or showcasing their bravery. That leaves the Puffs with the time to observe and deduce about his problem.

She was astonished that no one gave any thought to the occasional scars the young Gryffindor had or the time of the month he had them. It didn't take much deduction anyway, they already had a subject called 'astronomy'.

She collected the notes from the table and walked to her desk before keeping them in the shelf behind. She was done for the day, it was a roller-coaster ride already, it had left her drained. The handsome quantity of wine that she had consumed wasn't helping her in remaining awake. She decided to finish the bottle before surrendering to sleep, but first she had to find where she kept the pepper-up potion she had borrowed from Madam Pomphrey.

The last glass of wine was accompanied with the memories of the last two days.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

 _There was a knock on her office door, she was about to leave as it was the last evening she had with her niece but she decided that it would be quick. "Come in."_

 _It was Hestia Jones who entered her office, a brown folder with the Ministry emblem on top of it in her hand. "Sorry to disturb you this late, Ma'am."_

" _What is it, Jones?" Amelia asked while packing her leather bag. Jones moved ahead and put the folder on the desk. "The report is ready, Ma'am, I thought you would want to have it as soon as its done."_

 _This got her attention, the report was about Cedric Diggory's murder, that was the only assignment Hestia had. "Have you written an abstract of report?"_

 _Jones just gave her an enthusiastic nod so Amelia continued with her question. "The forensics report and residual readings are included?"_

 _When Amelia received an affirmative nod, she did not wait any longer. She picked up the folder before walking out towards the office the Senior Under-secretary. She read the report's abstract, forensics report and conclusions as she was on her way. It was already late by office standards and most of the ministry workers had left. Most of them had left early as it was the last day before students were to leave for Hogwarts. She did not come across anyone except her secretary and then the secretary to the Senior Under-secretary. "Is she here?"_

" _Madam Bones, she is about to leave. She won't be entertaining anymore visitors today. I'm sorry." Umbridge's secretary answered flatly. Amelia had no patience for this games, "inform her that I'm here and tell her that the matter is of extreme importance."_

 _Even before the secretary could protest, there was that girlish voice behind her, "What is it, Amelia?"_

" _I need to talk to you about something important, Madam Under-secretary." Amelia waved the folder in front of her._

" _I believe it can wait." Umbridge gave her a smile that held no warmth._

" _I wouldn't have come if it could." Amelia was getting even more impatient as the moments glided past._

" _Very well, to my office then." Umbridge walked away to her office with the invitation to Amelia and she didn't waste any time standing there._

" _You need to see this." She placed the open folder in front of Umbridge. "This is conclusive, Madam Under-secretary, it can't be ignored or denied now."_

 _Umbridge pulled the report and went through it with a cursory glance. "It's incomplete, inconclusive and biased. The investigation is closed."_

" _Excuse me?" Amelia thought that it was her chance to prove that she was right but that response threw her off balance. "You haven't read it yet."_

" _Oh, I don't need to Amelia." There was that smile again, Amelia wanted nothing more than to wipe that taunting smile away from that face. Umbridge threw the report on the table, although there was no force behind it. "The only place for this report is a dustbin. I hope you and your department would act more professionally in future, Bones. The performance is extremely poor."_

" _Mind your words, Madam Umbridge. You are not my superior and it would do you well to keep that in mind." Amelia could not stop herself and she didn't mince her words either. She was thrown off-balance again by that girlish laughter. "Go home, Amelia, you are dismissed. But please remember it, if you raise your voice in this office again, you won't be heading a department the next day."_

" _Do what you want, Dolores but this report will be presented in front of Wizengamot, whether you want it or not." Amelia picked up the report and turned to leave but before she could, Umbridge spoke. "Is it a challenge, Bones?"_

" _Believe whatever the hell you want to. I am done with you." Amelia had just turned the knob when she heard the last words from Umbridge before she walked out of the office._

" _We shall see to that."_

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

 _She had just entered her office in the ministry after dropping her niece on the platform when she was called to the Minister's office. She had moved past what happened last evening, she had to. She can't take her professional problems to home, especially when it was the last day of her niece at home. She had made a floo-call to Dumbledore last night and informed him that the report is with her._

 _She was on her way to Minister's office, his secretary told her that her presence is long awaited. She gave a knock before entering the office, what surprised her was the presence of two people apart from the Minister himself, namely Umbridge and Ogden._

" _Amelia!", It was Fudge who noticed her first, "please have a seat"._

" _It seems something important needs to be discussed. What is it about, Minister?" She kept her voice at professionally acceptable levels and successfully hid her surprise at finding the other two in the office._

" _Madam Bones, you have been an exceptional employee of this organization. You have done a commendable job." It was Ogden who interjected before turning to look at the Minister. Before Fudge could utter a word, Umbridge spoke. "But the security lapses the ministry had experienced for the last two years under your directorship and the inability of your department in capturing an escaped mass-murderer can't be overlooked."_

 _The words left her speechless, the shock of what was happening was unprecedented. Her shock was plainly visible on her face, it became the reason behind the cynical smile of Umbridge. "You should understand, Amelia that unprofessional attitude and under-performance are the characteristics the ministry can't tolerate."_

" _It is time to infuse some discipline in the department, Madam Bones." Ogden said without any emotions. "The administration believes that a more mature and strong leadership is required in the department."_

 _Amelia schooled her expressions to curiosity before asking, "might I ask, to whom the administration is planning to appoint as the new director of DMLE?"_

" _Oh, you might surely know him, Amelia. He has been an outstanding example for the wizarding society, he was previously associated with your department." Umbridge was enjoying it thoroughly. "The Minister has decided..."_

" _The minister can speak for himself, thank you very much." Fudge cut her off mid-sentence. "I apologize Amelia but it is important to take some strict measures and I hope you would understand my position. The ministry will be appointing Corban Yaxley as the new DMLE director."_

" _HAH!" She could not believe it. They were appointing another Purist from Malfoy's camp. Things started to make more sense now, although it didn't matter now. "And pray tell me, what would be my future duties?"_

" _I am so sorry to be the one informing you this, Amelia. You are relieved of all your duties, responsibilities and positions by immediate effect. We would appreciate if you could empty the office before the end of the day." Fudge pushed a sheet of parchment and a quill towards Amelia._

 _Amelia was too angry to be sensible and against her better sense of judgement, she signed the parchment without reading the contents and walked out of the office without another word. Within fifteen minutes of the incident, she floo-ed to her home._

 _The only sensible thing she did in this mess was to bring the investigation report of Cedric's murder mystery with her._

 _She did not waste any time in informing Dumbledore about her departure from the department and Yaxley's appointment._

" _It's a pleasure to see you, Amelia." Dumbledore greeted as the fire in his office's fireplace turned green and Madam Bones's head came into view. "Might I ask, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_

" _It would be better if we spoke more directly, Albus." Amelia replied sombrely._

 _The twinkle of his eyes disappeared for a moment as he took in Amelia's expressions, "please come through, Amelia."_

" _Thanks, Albus." Amelia answered before the connection got broken. A moment later, she stepped through the green flames into the headmaster's study. "Please have a seat, Amelia."_

 _Amelia acquiesced, "it is quite important, Albus otherwise I wouldn't have called you."_

" _I understand, Amelia. Should I bring something to drink before we begin?" Dumbledore offered. Amelia just gave a half-nod before two crystal goblets appeared on the table and a fire-whisky bottle came floating and landed gently between the two goblets. Dumbledore offered the goblet to Amelia before filling a handsome amount. "Please continue, Amelia."_

 _Amelia took a sip before continuing. "Ministry is appointing Yaxley as the new director to the DMLE, I am relieved from all my responsibilities and positions with immediate effect."_

" _Because of the investigation report." Dumbledore commented. "I was expecting something on similar lines, although this was beyond my expectation."_

" _You are not alone in that, Albus." Amelia replied dead-seriously._

 _Dumbledore did not speak for more than a minute, Amelia was getting impatient but she did not show it. Dumbledore finally broke the silence, "I have a proposition, Amelia."_

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry woke up late that morning, good thing that today was Saturday. Last night was something unexpected and it had continued to be so after he had entered the dormitory along with Neville and Ron. The other two occupants of the dormitory gave them disdainful looks before closing the curtains of their four-posters. Harry, Ron and Neville didn't talk any more that night and went to bed pretty quickly but sleep alluded them for the major part of the night. The three couldn't sleep but they didn't want to check on the other two, so they just stayed silent and as the night drifted towards its deepest hours, the three eventually drifted to an uneasy slumber.

When he woke up, the only person still present in his four-poster was Ron, Neville was halfway getting dressed. He still had problem tying his school-tie.

"Good morning, Harry." Neville said, still trying to tie an oriental knot, he looked tired.

"Morning. Couldn't sleep?" Harry asked while searching for his glasses.

"I tried my best." He finally abandoned the attempt and stuffed the tie in his pocket.

"You could have tried a bit longer." Harry answered, he finally stood up from the bed.

"The tie or the sleep?" That got a chuckle out of Harry.

"The sleep, Neville. I believe Hannah would be too happy to tie the knot though." Harry replied with a subdued laughter.

Neville mimicked a tomato as the understanding of the wordplay dawned. "Ha Ha Ha, very Funny, Potter. Although you are much ahead on that road."

This time Harry was the one who turned red but he was saved by the third occupant of the room. "Oh for Merlin's sake, please shut your sweet, lovey-dovey talk when there is a single person in the room."

"Ah, the sleeping beauty is finally awake!" Harry diverted the conversation away.

"My ears were becoming diabetic and your talk butchered by appetite. And Neville, why are you all dressed? It's Saturday, go back to sleep." Ron said before pulling the blanket over this face. Neville had forgotten that the classes weren't to begin till the fourth. "Well, no harm done, I will just have breakfast. You should be quick if you want to have some too, Harry."

"Hey." Hermione greeted him as he sat next to her on the Gryffindor house table, the great hall was still crowded, students had taken the advantage of the first day being Saturday.

"Hey, you." Harry replied while filling his plate. Hermione pushed a couple of sheet of parchment towards Harry as he started eating.

"Yours and Ron's lecture schedule, McGonagall distributed them a few minutes ago." Hermione answered before returning back to her book. "Where is Ron?"

"Still asleep." Harry answered without looking up from his plate.

"How in the world can Ronald Weasley skip breakfast?" Hermione asked in a dramatic tone.

"Well, apparently, the only thing that can make him skip breakfast is sleep and some romantic chatter." Harry answered while putting down his spoon and turning towards Hermione.

"And why were you romancing with your best friend?" Hermione asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I was missing my other best friend so I had to make do with him." Harry replied while sliding closer to her.

Their conversation was halted as the whole great hall went silent before murmurs started. At the threshold of the great hall stood a short squat woman with a flabby face and little neck. She was wearing a bright pink cardigan and had a black velvet bow in her brown mousy hair. She looked like a fly perched on a pink toad.

"Who is she?" Harry asked as the women started walking towards the teachers table. She was holding a rolled and sealed parchment in her thick stubby fingers.

"She is Dolores Umbridge, Senior Under-secretary to the Minister. Tonks told about her after the trial, don't you remember?" Hermione whispered in his ear, her eyes fixed on the moving figure of the new entrant of the great hall. As she neared the teachers' table, McGonagall and Amelia stood up from their respective seats, not in respect but as a defensive position. Dumbledore remained unmoved and sat in his chair with a twinkle in his eyes and an all-knowing smile on his face.

"Good Morning, Madam Under-secretary. I'm surprised to see you here." Dumbledore Stood up from his chair when Umbridge stepped on the platform and stood directly in front of Dumbledore, they were eye-level when Dumbledore was on his chair.

"Good morning, Headmaster." She turned away from him and towards Amelia. "I am amazed to see you here, Bones. No need to stand up in my honour, don't be so formal."

Amelia had to control a scathing reply as Dumbledore steered away the conversation, "to what do I the pleasure of your presence, Madam Umbridge?"

She just handed him the roll of parchment with a sickly sweet smile. The smile didn't waver even one bit as Dumbledore read the contents of it. And before he could finish reading it, Umbridge turned towards the students.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizard of vital importance. Although each Headmaster has brought something new to this historic school. Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be prohibited. Towards this end, Ministry has appointed me as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor with immediate effect."

A/N: Sorry for the late updates. Please review.


	24. B2: Chapter 24 - The New Professor

A/N: Sorry for this late update, I have been busy these past few weeks and I can't see it changing in near future. Hopefully, I will have another chapter up before the end of January. The name of students in Harry's year are on my profile, categorized by house (it might be useful).

Merry Christmas

Please Review.

Chapter Twenty-Four : The New Professor

The voice level in the great hall suddenly rose a few decibel levels but it went to zero in a moment as dumbledore raised his hand to silence the students. McGonagall could not resist herself from rebuking, "I'm sure Ministry is thrilled with your appointment but we already have a DADA professor, Madam Umbridge."

McGonagall pointed towards Amelia as she said, "let me introduce you to our new DADA teacher, Prof. Bones. And I'm sure you are well acquainted to her."

"What's the meaning of this Dumbledore?" She angrily asked to the old wizard. "Shall I remind you Dumbledore about the Education Decree Number Twenty-Two, under which Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate?"

"Then I will be reminding you that the Ministry has the power to do so if – and only if – the headmaster is unable to find one. And in this case, we have already found a new DADA professor." Dumbledore replied in his trademark calm and composed manner.

"But... but she wasn't appointed before the school started and Ministry wasn't informed about it. Her appointment is invalid, Dumbledore." Umbridge was on the verge of shouting, her anger was boiling and was about to overflow.

"I should remind you Madam Under-secretary that the School starts with the 'start-of-the-term' feast and Madam Bones was appointed well before that. Moreover, there was nothing in the decree regarding conveying the information of such appointment to Ministry." Dumbledore sighed deeply before continuing, "your argument thus stands void and I would suggest that you return to your position of Senior Under-secretary. Although, I would like to invite you to my office for tea before you take your leave."

"No thanks, Dumbledore but I will make sure that the Minister would pay you a visit, _Headmaster_." Umbridge turned and left without another word.

"Indeed." All the gears in Dumbledore's wise brain were in top speed. Dumbledore clapped his hands once and the tables turned spotless instantenously, marking the end of the breakfast. There were a few grumpy faces and a couple of voices of dissent but they were drowned in the scraping noises of benches and footsteps. Harry had stood up along with Hermione to walk out of the great hall but he was interrupted.

"Mr. Potter, may I have a word with you." It was McGonagall and it wasn't a request by any means. "In my office, in fifteen minutes."

She left with that veiled command, this left Harry a bit puzzled regarding the reason of such an invitation. He voiced it to Hermione, "what did I do now?"

"Nothing. I just had a word with her before you arrived for breakfast." Hermione answered with a knowing smile.

"And what did you complain about this time?" Harry asked playfully.

"I don't complain." She answered defensively, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "... much."

"Of course, you don't." Harry replied with a wink. "You just point out the flaws and problems."

He received a playful punch on his shoulder for his cheek. "Ron is a bad influence on you."

"Don't always blame the ginger, I picked the fancy wordplay from you." This brought a hard blush and a sweet smile on her face. For the next ten minutes they just wandered along the corridors towards McGonagall's office, discussing the turn of events during breakfast. As the time drew near, they stood outside McGonagall's office.

"Should I wait?" Hermione asked.

"No, no, you go on, I will find you in library." Harry answered off-handedly.

"Why would I be in library on the first day?" Hermione asked him, seeming offended.

"Okay, so where would you be?" Harry asked, his eyebrows rising a bit.

"In the library." Hermione answered sheepishly. "But you could have said lakeside or common-room. I can be adventures too, you know."

"Oh, I know. I have been with you this past four years. I will see you later." Harry replied.

"Okay." Hermione left with a peck on his cheek.

He knocked on the door of McGonagall's office as Hermione walked away, the door swung open the very next moment. "Good morning, professor."

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. Have a seat. I would have offered you a biscuit but I believe you had a nice breakfast." McGonagall replied from her seat behind the desk, Harry acquiesced. "Ms. Granger told me this morning that you were disappointed with my choice of prefects."

"It's not like that professor and I am fine with it now. It was just momentary." Harry replied defensively. "I understand that you must have had your reasons."

McGonagall didn't say anything immediately, it seemed that she was trying to decide the next part of their conversation. "There were reasons, but not my own, Mr. Potter."

Harry was unable to get the meaning behind the sentence and that showed on his face. "Excuse me professor but what do you mean by that?"

"What did Mr. Weasley tell you about his visit to my office last night?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.

"That he got a stern warning from you about his behavior. He didn't talk much when he returned." Harry answered, thinking hard about the brief conversation that took place on Ron's return from McGonagall's office.

"Very Well." McGonagall rose from her chair and walked to the file cabinet in the room, opened the drawer, she flipped through the immaculately organized files and folders within it. She pulled two files from the drawer, one was significantly thicker than the other. She returned to her seat and placed the files in front of Harry.

"Please open the maroon file, Mr. Potter and go to the page titled - 1975. You might find a friendly face." Harry did as he was asked and he wasn't disappointed. The page had a small photo of a pale-looking teenager with light-green eyes, light brown hair and a kind smile. The name accompanying the photo proved that Harry's guess was correct. It was indeed Remus. "Sirius told me about it."

"Then he must have told you about the other part too. Open the other folder, to the page titled - 1977." McGonagall pointed out, "another familiar face, might I add."

"I know, Ma'am. Sorry to sound rude but what's your point?" Harry answered as he skipped to the page labeled 1977. It was like he was looking at a mirror but instead of the emerald of his eyes, hazel ones looked back.

"Dumbledore appointed me as the head of Gryffindor house when he was appointed the headmaster in '71." McGonagall replied after a small pause.

"Its nice to know, Ma'am." Harry said politely, thoroughly confused about the direction of the discussion.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter but I didn't ask you to come to my office to narrate you my biography." McGonagall replied with a thin smile. "These two folders contained the student details of the past prefects and head-boys from Gryffindor, respectively, since I was appointed as the head."

"The point, Mr. Potter, is that it wasn't my decision, neither this time nor during your father's time. Professor Dumbledore has a unique way of thinking and even after so many years, I still can't anticipate or digest quite a handful of his unorthodox and baffling decisions. This being one of them." McGonagall huffed at the end of her rant.

"Headmaster believes that it would do Mr. Weasley a lot of good if he was given more responsibility so that he can learn to shoulder them in the times to come. Moreover, he believes that it would be better if you don't take much pressure and stress this year, it would adversely affect you. I am unconvinced by his reasoning and most probably you are too." McGonagall gave the long explanation with a blank face, leaving Harry ill at ease. McGonagall sighed before starting again. "Mr. Lupin was given the prefect position to boost his confidence and self-esteem and Dumbledore thinks that doing the same would diminish the chances of further discord between you and Mr. Weasley. And that's not all, although, I'm very skeptical, I think it might be a blessing in disguise for you."

"Excuse me for asking but how would that be, ma'am?" Harry inquired with an expression of disbelief.

"Mr. Potter, I believe you would understand that the situation that exists at the moment is going to worsen over the coming years until it gets better. And if the past is any indication, you will be most certainly in the thick of the danger. You not being a prefect would leave you enough time to train yourself for whatever that may lie in the future." McGonagall answered somberly. Her expression was enough to convey the message to Harry. He just nodded in understanding before he was dismissed.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"What are we going to do with our bug-problem?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron as the three of them were sitting on a deserted staircase in a remote and unused part of the castle on the Sunday evening before the classes begin.

"I have no idea." Harry confessed.

"Can't we just keep her corked in the glass phial?" Ron suggested with an exasperated tone.

"I don't like that idea, it's inhuman." Harry made his thoughts clear.

"Obviously, it's inhuman. She is an insect for all purposes." Ron defended his idea. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"None." Harry answered disinterestedly.

"You are the strategist for the team, why don't you come up with one?" Hermione said, mocking his chess-prowess.

"You know, Hermione, for someone so intelligent like yourself, you don't know when to stay silent." Ron replied with a hint of anger.

"Guys, let's not descend into an uncivilized argument, shall we?" Harry tried to pacify the brewing storm.

"Ask your girlfriend to keep her temper in check." Ron said but he suddenly went silent, a look of surprise on his face. "You know what, the lead strategist of the team actually has an idea."

"Oh really? Let's hear it then." Hermione replied with the same intensity before folding her arms in front.

"Huh, the brain of the group could not figure it out yet but I did. I must be smarter then." Ron mocked Hermione but went silent when he received a pointed glare from her. "OK but let me ask you one thing first, what happened to the out-of-bounds third-floor corridor from our first-year?"

That got both Harry and Hermione thinking, nobody had spoken a single word about it in the school since then. Hermione was the first to react, but it was like a loudly spoken inner-thought. "I think students still believe that it's out-of-bounds."

"Precisely. Nobody had told them that its safe now, they didn't know what was there in the first place. It hadn't come up in any discussion so far." Ron continued with his idea.

"But what about the younger students, they don't know about it so, they have no fear about it." Harry interjected.

"Hah, pretty intelligent idea, you thought about it because it wasn't a good one." Hermione pulled no punches when it came to mocking Ron.

"Ms. Granger, you don't seem to learn from your mistakes, 'Hogwarts, a history' doesn't tell you everything about the school and certainly not about its students." Ron was on a roll and he did not back down this time.

"It's rich, coming from someone who is almost pathologically repulsed by books and one book in particular." Hermione retorted.

"Hang on a second, Hermione. There might be some merit in his idea." Harry jumped in the middle of the 2-way discussion.

"Not you too, Harry. The idea is naive, for the lack of a proper word." Hermione defended her stand.

"Since when do you have vocabulary deficiency, Hermione?" Ron was the one to comment.

"And since when did you start using fancy words?" Hermione replied sarcastically.

"I read something and it got me reading." Ron answered a bit shyly.

"Oh really? And what was that thing you read, your grade-sheet?" Hermione taunted him again.

"That's enough!" Harry had to shout to get them back to the discussion. "Why the two of you have to quarrel incessantly? There are more important things to talk about than Ron's reading list or Hermione's sudden inability to find proper words."

"Sorry." Hermione was the first to take a step back. She was immediately followed by Ron, "yeah mate, let's get back to the matter at hand".

"I think there is a good chance that students are unaware about that corridor and it very well might have been a customary thing to tell the juniors not to go to the restricted third-floor corridor." Harry continued with his thoughts from the point where it was left. "The problem is, how do we confirm it? Because if we started asking, people will notice and they might get suspicious. However, if we did not confirm, we might run into serious problem."

"So, its the 'Schroedinger cat' problem." Hermione commented off-handedly.

"A what?" Ron asked, totally confused.

"The 'Schroedinger's Cat', it's a physics experiment by a great scientist." Hermione explained in least number of words that she could manage. "My dad told me about it last summer when my mom was thinking about preparing a Thai meal but had reservations."

"Muggles!" Ron took a sigh of exasperation, "obsessed with ducks and cats".

"Ron!" That came out as a warning from Hermione. There wasn't any heat in it but there was steel.

"So, how do we confirm it either way?" Harry asked.

"We three can go and check the location. During the prefects' rounds, its the quietest and there will be no one around. Harry, you should use your cloak when we do it." Hermione suggested.

"Okay and I will talk to twins and try to find out what do they know about the corridor and what is their opinion about it." Ron suggested to Harry. "You can use the map to check if that place is being used by anyone."

"So, we have a plan but we must have a backup, don't you think, Harry?" Hermione popped the question.

"Don't we usually use the backup plan and isn't it just 'no-plan'?" Ron was the one to make his opinion clear.

"Can't argue with that." Harry said, deep in thought, remembering his life-and-death encounters over the years. "We will think about the other options once this one is decided either way."

"So that wraps up our most important discussion of the evening." Hermione said taking a step closer to Harry. "We have prefects' meeting tonight, Harry, we will see you in the common-room."

She gave him a peck on the lips before stepping back. Ron was making a bad face as a reaction to their display of affection. "Please stop doing that, would you?"

"Get used to it, Ronnie." Hermione said in a mischievous tone.

"And by the way, Ron was reading '12 ways to charm a witch' and Ron, just for your information, Hermione can't find words when she is confused or flustered." There would have been laughter on Hermione's part but the last part of Harry's words killed the chances of that.

"Hey!" Ron was offended, "I told you that in confidence."

"Uh huh, you didn't tell me, I found out and then you pleaded to keep it a secret." Harry replied.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Ron questioned, his ears turning red to match his hair. "I am leaving."

"I'm right behind you." Hermione said before giving Harry a heartfelt smile and following Ron towards McGonagall's office for their meeting.

Harry turned to walk back to the Gryffindor common-room but he decided to take a longer route to think about a few things, he had some quite time for himself. He would have gone to his favorite spot by the lake but it was late for that and he did not have his invisibility cloak with him. He decided to go to the astronomy tower, the warm breeze throughout his brief walk to the tower was soothing to his senses. It was quiet, and the moonlight trickling through the clouds and windows gave the setting an ethereal feel. As he opened the door at the end of the stairway, he came across not-so-deserted astronomy tower. In the center of the circular open area stood a blonde girl with a bronze instrument in her hand, gazing at the stars through that instrument.

Harry did not want to intrude so he turned to leave but his steps were halted. "Hello, Harry Potter."

Now there was no way he could leave so he faced the student on the astronomy tower. "Hello, Luna. Sorry to disturb you."

She did not say anything in reply, she didn't even look at him. Harry was feeling uncomfortable so he tried his best to continue the conversation. "How did you know it was me?"

"I guessed." She was still busy with the instrument.

"What's this?" Harry asked, giving a last shot at a conversation.

This got her attention, she turned to talk to him and showed him the instrument. "It's a sextant, sailors and travelers use it for navigation."

Harry was reluctant to try the instrument but he decided to try it once. "How does it work?"

Luna first corrected his hold on the sextant then positioned it for him to use and started on a long explanation about its working. Harry was amazed by the intricacy and the usefulness of the instrument and was surprised that someone still used an instrument this complicated. "It's great, Luna. But why do you use such a complicated instrument just for navigation? I'm sure there must be some spell for it."

She just shrugged before replying in her trademark far-away manner. "It reminds me of my mum, she loved it, she was an explorer."

The somewhat passive excitement was drained and Harry had to ask, "what happened to her, is she alright?"

"Oh, she is alright, she is just not alive anymore." Harry could not judge her emotions through her far-away look, a serene smile and almost muted body language and the confusing statement that she made. So, he went to the easiest response he could think of. "I'm sorry, Luna."

"Why are you sorry, Harry Potter? It wasn't your fault." She picked up the instrument and placed it in front of her eye. "She passed away when I was nine, it was a charms accident. But dad is still here."

"Oh." Harry did not know how to respond to that so he didn't he just stood there for a couple of minutes before something popped up in his mind. "Luna, what are those creatures pulling the carriages?"

"They are Thestrals, Harry Potter. They are quite gentle creatures but people stay away from them usually." Luna was now looking at Harry with an expression that bordered on curiosity and understanding.

"Because people are afraid of them?" Harry expressed his thoughts.

"People fear what they don't understand. Thestrals are just a bit different, most people are unable to appreciate them just because their different appearance and characteristics which give them macabre reputation which comes in the way of it." Luna answered before turning to leave.

"People don't appreciate them maybe because most people can't see them? Why is that so?" Harry asked the question that bothered him the most.

"Only those can see Thestrals who are touched by death." Luna was looking at Harry's confused expression with even more curiosity. "They can be seen only by those who have seen death, experienced it and accepted its reality."

The realization dawned on Harry the very next moment. In all the excitement of return and everything that had happened in the last two days had pushed the memories of the last year to the back of his mind, just for the time being. But there was something nagging him still. "I'm not sure about that Luna. I should have been able to see them even before because my mother was killed in front of my eyes. But it didn't happen that way."

Luna was in a deep thought for not more than a couple of seconds before she clarified her answer. During the moments of thinking, the look of curiosity and interest remained on her face. "It would have been amazing if you could comprehend the depth of death due to something that happened to you when you were in your crib, Harry Potter. Death and mortality are neither abstract nor simple, one can't just understand them. You can only understand them when you have accepted your own mortality at some point."

"I can believe that you faced him, I can see it in your eyes that you have been touched by death." It seemed that Luna understood his emotions. "I believe in you, Harry Potter and so does my dad. We will support you, no matter what."

She took a step closer to Harry and patted him on his shoulder before asking him something. "You can come with me to visit the Thestrals on Saturday, after breakfast."

She did not wait for his response and left the astronomy tower, leaving Harry standing alone in the center of the star-gazing platform, thinking about the possibility of meeting Thestrals again.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry had just entered the common-room when he noticed that the twins and Lee Jordan were floating a few cardboard boxes up the stairs. But before he could ask or say anything, one of the twins turned towards him. "I hope you won't rat us to your prefect-girlfriend, Harry."

"That depends." Harry was quick to react.

"Ooooh! Somebody has gone wicked." The other twin said before placing the boxes on the ground and moving closer to Harry. "So tell us Potter, how can we help our chief benefactor?"

"Oh it's nothing, I was just wondering something." Harry kept up the charade.

"And what would that be?" The first twin asked in a fake serious tone. They were busy talking while Lee was floating the boxes up the stairs.

"I was always curious how well you know and understand the students and the castle." Harry tried to be smooth with the twins.

"You know half of our secret, you own it now." Gred answered.

"The rest is just our good nature, looks and brains." Forge completed the answer pompously.

"Then you might be able to tell what happened to the third floor corridor?" Harry asked in a casual way.

"Nothing really." Gred said off-handedly.

"Actually it's still out of bounds." Forge leaned forward to whisper in Harry's ear. "...but since Hagrid has removed his cute monstrosity, we have been using the chamber as our private lab."

"And since, there are only three seventh-year Gryffindor boys..."

"We two and Lee."

"... We have the dorm all to ourselves."

"So, we are moving the lab closer to our beds."

Harry had assumed that after four years of this ping-pong conversational style, he would get accustomed to it, but he realized that his assumption could not have been more wrong. "Wasn't Kenneth Towler in your year too?"

"That lucky bastard was promoted to the Head-boy..."

"... Because there was no one else competent enough."

"Great for you but aren't you worried that McGonagall would find out?" Harry was more worried that Hermione would find out.

"We will manage, won't we, Fred?"

"We sure will, George. Just a couple of weeks more Harry and we will show you what we have been doing all this time." Fred answered before they walked up the stairs towards their dorm, cardboard boxes floating in front of them.

Harry decided to wait for Ron and Hermione in the almost empty commonroom of Gryffindor tower. There were only a few students sitting around, three of whom Harry knew quite well, they were the Chaser Trinity of Hogwarts, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. Harry went to the corner table, around which these three were huddled up.

"What are you three up to?" Harry inquired, a bit curious.

"Ah, here is our seeker." Angelina greeted him and pulled a chair for him. "Have a seat, Potter. We have a lot to discuss."

"Okay." Harry did as he was asked. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Angelina was named captain for this year, so, just the strategy session." Katie answered for the three girls.

"And mind you, she is not even a little bit less annoying than Wood was as captain." Alicia continued the banter.

"Hey! I want to get that trophy too and to get it, no one gets to slack off." Angelina said, her eyes narrowing, her expressions and words reminding Harry of Oliver Wood.

"I am starting to see the similarities." Harry commented. "Anything for me?"

"Just get the snitch." Angelina replied off-handedly. "Before the other one."

"You got off cheaply." Katie nudged him lightly. "We are here for the last 2 hours."

"Any dates for the try-outs?" Harry quizzed them casually. "For Wood's position."

"In a couple of weeks, by the latest. I want the team up-and-flying before the end of September." Angelina answered excitedly.

The discussion was halted as the portrait swung open and Ron and Hermione entered. Harry could feel that there was something wrong with the two of them. He bid goodbye to his quidditch teammates and walked up to his two best friends who were now sitting on the opposite ends of the couch. Ron's ears were noticeably red while Hermione looked irritated.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked to both of them but he knew that the response would surely come from Hermione.

"Care to tell him, Ronald?" Hermione said through clenched teeth. 'Ronald' and the clenched teeth were the red flag for Harry.

"Is everything alright?" Harry had to ask before Hermione turned to him to answer as Ron just shook his head, he was looking at his toes.

"Some people don't know when to talk and when to keep quiet." Hermione hissed.

"I didn't know it would go this way." Ron defended, finally looking up from his feet.

"Seriously, you didn't think about the possibilities?" Hermione wasn't giving him any room to escape.

"I didn't think about it, okay? It wasn't preplanned and I didn't get time to think it through." Ron was in the corner but he wasn't down yet, he was trying his best to deflect any accusation coming his way. Harry had to intervene before the whole house descended to the common-room due to all the shouting. "Please be less noisy and tell me what's going on."

Hermione just huffed and turned away from Ron without giving any explanation to Harry. A couple of moments later, Ron spoke. "We got assigned random partners."

"What?" Harry wasn't getting what exactly happened but he was sure that it wasn't anything good. "Please be a bit more elaborate."

"McGonagall asked us if we had any suggestions and I happen to had one." He turned to Hermione as if to apologize but he stopped just a moment short. "And I did not think it through, Hermione."

"Are you trying to apologize, Ronald?" Hermione's expression was completely blank. Ron flinched at the pronunciation of his birth name. Ron did not answer but the raised eyebrow from Hermione got him talking. "I umm... that is to say... I guess I mean uhh..."

"Hurry up, Ron, I don't want to be late on my first day as a prefect to the lecture." Hermione tried to get the apology out of him.

"Okay, Okay." He took a deep breath before the words came out of him. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"Don't think you are out of danger, Ronald. This is not over yet." The tension in Hermione's shoulders was gone instantaneously. "Now, let me tell you what happened, Harry."

"Waiting for it." Harry gestured her to continue. "Go on."

"We were the last ones to reach McGonagall's office, after explaining our duties, procedures and protocols, prof. McGonagall asked if we had any creative suggestions. And then this half-brained human here, speaks for the first time during the meeting and the worst idea in the history of Ron's worst ideas came out in the open." Hermione paused in her ramblings to give a disgusted look to Ron before she turned towards Harry and continued. "He suggested that the partners for prefect duties should be shuffled."

It took a few seconds for Harry to understand the meaning of the statement but as the meaning seeped in, the blood rushed-out of his face, the look could clearly explain his reaction. "Merlin's pants! Ron, what mess did you create this time?"

Ron was unable to answer due to regret so Hermione helped him out. "He got his wish to accompany either Susan or Padma for the prefects' rounds. He got paired with Padma. Me with Terry Boot and Susan got the worst of it, she got paired with Malfoy."

"I already apologized for it to her. I didn't know that McGonagall would accept the suggestion." Ron was apologetic not only through words but his demeanor showed it too.

"This is bad, I already feel sorry for her." Harry said before Hermione added her thoughts too. "She is a sweet person, she doesn't deserve Malfoy's company."

"Did you try to talk to McGonagall to reverse the decision." Harry asked with very little hope of anything good.

"Actually its temporary provision till the end of Halloween. She took a vote and it was a tie, so she randomized the pairs on temporary basis, if there are any problems, she will discontinue it." Hermione gave a long explanation for the happenings of meeting.

"That's some relief." Harry words reflected his feelings pretty accurately. "Is she going to do the same with other prefects?."

"Hopefully not." Ron was one to speak now. "Can you imagine how volatile it can become? Just short of instigating a riot if a Gryffindor and a Slytherin is paired."

"I think McGonagall knows that much, she is smart." Hermione tried to defend her favourite professor.

"I'm not saying otherwise either." Ron went completely defensive.

"Apart from all the mess you went through this evening, I have got something interesting." Harry tried to divert the conversation towards something more positive. As he got the attention of the two fifth-year Gryffindor prefects, he told them about the conversation he had with the twins at his return to the common-room. "So, we have got our secret chamber, all we need to do is some dusting."

"I'm sure there is more than just dusting we would need to do." Ron commented sarcastically.

"We should still scout it for a few days and put some wards around it to increase the security." Hermione did what she was good at, giving well-informed advice.

"Well at least one of us would have free evenings, you will have company for scouting, Harry." Ron commented with a chuckle.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Why do they always put Gryffindor with Slytherin for DADA? I think they do it deliberately." Ron complained to Harry as they were walking to the DADA classroom, they had the first lecture unassigned while Hermione was busy with Arithmancy.

"That makes two of us." Neville said to Ron as he came level with them.

"Sorry to leave you behind." Harry apologized to the youngest Longbottom. "Where were you last night?"

"I was talking to prof. Sprout, she was giving me some advice and instructions." Neville answered off-handedly.

"Just a couple of questions, Neville. By 'prof. Sprout', did you mean 'Hannah' and by 'advice and instructions', did you mean 'pulling you in broom cupboards and snogging'?" Ron was at his sarcastic best for a few days now and he wasn't shy of showing it off. Neville turned tomato-red as the question bounced off him.

"Don't tease him too much, Ron, he might turn into a ginger." Harry nudged Ron before continuing. "Hannah already has a ginger attached to her at hips."

That got a hearty laugh out of Ron and a embarassed chuckle from Neville. Neville used the little bit of confidence he had developed to come up with a reply. "I hear that Ron messed things up again last night. I'm sure that he had a pleasant evening after the meeting."

"How did you know?" Ron asked, befuddled.

"People talk, Ron, especially girls." Neville replied as they entered the DADA corridor. "And by the way, from next week onwards DADA will have all houses together."

"Why would they keep it separate it for even this week?" Ron questioned the timetable again. But it remained unanswered as they walked ahead.

Most other students from Gryffindor and Slytherin were standing outside the classroom but Hermione wasn't there yet. She hadn't reached there yet but the Blonde-ponce had and he made it known the very next moment.

"Here comes the liar, the dumb and the pauper from the house of sissies." The young Malfoy commented which got a hearty laugh out of the Slytherin fifth-years as a reaction.

"It's really a school of magic, isn't it?" Harry asked Ron, rhetorically. "I just saw a white talking ferret."

This time the laughter was from the other half of the assembled students but before it could go any further, the door to the classroom opened on its own accord. A moment later, they were told to enter. The DADA hall looked polar opposite to the last year. The desks were in a circular pattern, facing the center of the room. A raised platform was placed at the center of the classroom, barely half-a-foot elevation. Madam Bones was standing at the top of the staircase leading to her office.

"Take your seats." Amelia said and waited till all the students were seated but Hermione and a couple of Slytherins were yet to arrive, their seats were empty.

"Where is Hermione?" Harry asked to Ron and Neville. All he received in response was a couple of shrugs. Although, his question was answered as the missing students entered the classroom. Hermione took her seat next to Harry after apologizing for her late entry, she got a look of disapproval from Bones. The Slytherin pair of Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass followed the suit and received the same treatment from the new DADA professor.

"Two points each would be deducted for entering the classroom late and that too without asking for permission. I hope that it would not be repeated in future." The expressions of Amelia Bones could give McGonagall a run for her money. Her crisp yellow-trimmed black robes were quite contrasting to the green-red tartan of McGonagall's, the only contrast in their appearance, except the obvious age difference. Amelia stepped down from the top of the stairs and stood in the center of the room.

"Good morning to all of you." She waited as there were half-hearted replies from the assembled students, she saw no need to introduce herself again and came straight to the point. "I should make myself abundantly clear at the beginning. No behavior or act of indiscipline will be tolerated."

There were muted nods from the fifth-year students so she continued. "I was told that you have suffered from an inconsistent syllabus and fragmented education in the subject. I was given the responsibility to streamline your education in the subject."

She did not wait for students' response and continued. "In the last three years, DMLE hadn't received any satisfactory applicants for the Auror Corps. I hope to rectify the situation. Can anyone tell us what are the requirements for being inducted into the Auror program?"

Hermione's hand shot up in the air along with a couple of others, including Neville, although he hesitated and did not look very sure. Amelia looked at all the students who wished to answer before turning to Neville. "Mr. Longbottom."

"Umm... They require minimum 5 N.E.W.T.s with 'exceed expectations' or above." Neville's response had jitters only at the beginning but apart from that, his answer was confident enough.

"And the subject?" Amelia asked, there was no sign of a smile on her face.

"Potions, DADA, Charms and Transfiguration are mandatory, the other subjects may vary." Neville completed his answer and he had a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"Correct, Mr. Longbottom. I believe your grandmother must have given you a lecture about it." There was just a hint of smile and a twinkle in her eyes but it was gone in a moment, replaced by the stern exterior. "It goes without saying that this is just the eligibility criteria for applying to the Auror program. You have to go through a series of evaluations of your magical, physical and mental capabilities. If your performance is satisfactory, you would be inducted into the three year long program at the end of which you would be tested again before being commissioned as an Auror."

There was a pin-drop silence in the classroom, nobody dared to even breathe, all eyes fixed on Amelia. "This year would decide if you are capable enough to even dream about the career of an Auror."

"Let's play a game first. One by one, you would come to the center of this area and try to disarm me. Everyone who succeeds would earn 10 points." She didn't give them enough time to think about her words before another command was fired. "Starting from here."

The first person on her left was Tracey Davis, she rose from her seat as Amelia pointed towards her. One could actually see her shaking, she wasn't tall or well-built and she looked like a kitten in front of the former DMLE Director. Tracey stood facing Amelia, her wand-arm shaking,she pursed her lips trying to concentrate.

"Try to keep the wand movement fluid and incantation loud and clear." Amelia instructed before folding her hands in front of her chest. "Whenever you are ready."

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

The tip of her wand glowed red and a dull scarlet streak shot towards Amelia but it missed her completely, she did not even move a muscle, the shot was that off-target.

"Your wand-arm is shaking, your grip is not correct and your wrist is too rigid for the fluid hand movement. Instead of your wrist, you are moving your shoulder to get the wand movement." Amelia read all the flaws in her spell-casting and explained them to her. She went to Tracey and corrected her grip and wrist and then asked her to take her seat. "Next!"

By the time all Slytherins have tried, Amelia had to dodge thrice, not because they were perfectly aimed but because they were close enough to her. The three Slytherins who did not receive much corrective instructions were Draco Malfoy, Theo Nott and Daphne Greengrass.

Now it was the turn of Gryffindors, starting with Lavender Brown who missed the target by a foot. Parvati and Fay weren't much better. Dean was quite an improvement over the previous three and Amelia had to dodge. Seamus was off-target, Neville could not even cast the spell but his wand-tip glowed red for a moment. Ron's attempt was good but missed by a few centimeter, grazing Amelia's robe collar. The next in line was Harry.

Amelia drew her wand from her sleeve but managed to keep it hidden. She was told by McGonagall that Potter was the best of his year in DADA and Amelia did not want to take any chances. Harry took his position, his posture was perfect, his grip and wrist position impeccable.

" _Expelliarmus_ ", Harry shouted and the red sparks shot from his wand towards Amelia. She made no movement and the spell bounced off the shield charm she had cast non-verbally and without any wand movement. Harry was quite surprised and the rest of the students stunned.

"Good job, Mr. Potter. Take your seat." Amelia commented before show-fully putting the wand back in her sleeve-holster. The only student remaining was Hermione, her spell was powerful and close to target but Amelia was easily able to dodge it.

"5 points to Gryffindor for Mr. Potter's perfectly cast spell. Except him, you all were more worried about the spell itself rather than the target and what your output should be." Amelia was walking along the desks, in a circle while looking at each of them in a way that would make them realize their mistakes. "You must understand that the spell is not the end in itself, its the means only. You must realize that the incantation and the wand movement is a way for you to concentrate your magic to get the required effect."

"You were unable to direct the spell towards its target because you weren't concentrating on the target, rather you were targeting on the spell." She sighed before asking to the class. "Didn't your previous teachers ever mentioned something anywhere remotely related?"

Everyone was looking at each other's faces when Hermione's hand shot up. "Professor Lupin something along those lines when he taught us how to defend against a boggart."

"I was told that he knew what he was doing." There was some sympathy in her eyes as she spoke about Lupin. "A pity that a good person had to suffer in such a way."

There was a derogatory chuckle from none other than the self-proclaimed prince of Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. The deadly stare he received for his behavior was as deadly as a Basilisk's. "It seems you have a different opinion about it, Mr. Malfoy. So, let's hear what you think about it."

Malfoy didn't lose his haughty composure and just leaned forward to answer in his spiteful voice. "He was a pathetic excuse of a teacher, he wasn't even a human, he was a beast."

His gang of Slytherins nodded in the support of his views. Enough to say that Amelia did not agree to the views and she was trying very hard not to give a solid retort. "Thanks for sharing your opinion, Mr. Malfoy. 5 points would be deducted from Slytherin for using foul language for an ex-professor. It would serve you well to remember Mr. Malfoy that Pure Bloods are respected for their culture, manners and knowledge rather than their birth and family name."

Malfoy had an expression of utter contempt as Amelia turned to address the rest of the class but not anyone in particular. "Going ahead in your life, all of you must understand one thing very clearly, getting rid of the patient is not the solution for any disease, the only solution is treating it with utmost sincerity. It is not just in case of someone struggling against lycanthropy, but any problem you might encounter in your life."

"In my career as an Auror and in various capacities with DMLE, I have learned a crucial lesson." She was back in her commanding and dominant persona. "You must learn to help others to help yourself."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"She was amazing." Hermione commented as they were walking towards their next lecture which was Transfiguration. Harry had a smile on his face as Hermione was singing praises for the new DADA professor. He could not hold himself back from responding. "Ron, should we tell McGonagall that she's got some serious competition for her position as Hermione's favorite professor?"

Ron answered laughingly. "Oh, I think she had already lost. Bones won for blasting that ferret out of this world."

"Professor Bones, Ronald. And for the kind information of you two, McGonagall is still my favorite." Hermione reply cheekily.

"I agree with them, Hermione." Neville interjected from the other side of Hermione. "You couldn't stop talking about her since we left the classroom."

"You are the one to talk." Hermione defended in her trademark, folded-arm, tilted-head, squinted-eyed body-language. "You were making cow-eyes at her. Should we tell Hannah that you are cheating on her with none other than her best friend's aunt?"

He just raised his hands to pull out of the discussion and turned to the other two boys. "Guys, you are on your own now."

They were met by the said Hufflepuffs a few moments later as they turned towards the transfiguration classroom. Hannah was the first to greet them. "Hey guys and hey you, hunk."

Neville turned red with embarrassment at the nickname Hannah had given him. "Hannah! Not around everyone."

"Hunk, huh?" Ronald could help but comment. "Hannah, do you need eye treatment or mental treatment? Hunk, really? You could've come up with a thousand, less ridiculous, names."

Hannah returned the favor in kind, her sweet voice did not sugarcoat the sting of the meaning of her words. "Oh Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie. For someone with good chess-brain, you screw things pretty bad, don't you? How was the meeting last night?"

That got a good laugh out of everyone except the butt of the joke himself. "I already said I'm sorry. Ok?"

"That doesn't change the position you have put us in." Susan replied, a bit angrily. "How could you, Weasley?"

"Well, I thought may be we would be paired up, I preferred that." Ron answered shyly, his hesitation was pretty clear in his voice.

"That's not happening now, Ron. You are such an incorrigible git." Susan huffed.

"Hey! That was a bit harsh." Ron answered in his defense.

"And you deserve every bit of that harshness." That was the last words they exchanged before entering the transfiguration classroom.

"You got burned there, ginger." Hannah mocked Ron one last time before taking her seat next to Susan, leaving Neville to sit with Ron, behind Hermione and Harry.

"Take your seats. Quick!" McGonagall commanded. Order was restored in the classroom as she stood up from her seat and walked to the blackboard. "The importance of O.W.L.s can't be overstated, simply put, they decide what you do in future."

"Keeping that in mind, we will begin the course with a quick revision of what we have learned in the last four years before we move on to the new things in your syllabus." She scanned the classroom with a purposeful look. "To pass your O.W.L.s, you need to be excellent, there is no place for mediocrity in your future education."

"We will start with the most rudimentary of things." McGonagall flicked her wand once and a matchbox appeared on each desk. "Turning matchsticks into needles."

There was a groan of protest from Ron which was immediately noticed by McGonagall. "Is there any problem Mr. Weasley."

"None, professor." Ron answered, unable to even look in her direction.

"Good." She waited a moment before continuing. "The task is a series of transfiguration exercises, matchsticks to needles to rings and to springs. You have fifteen minute to make a spring out of 15 matchsticks. Your time starts now."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Springs are difficult to make." Ron wasn't shutting up about why he failed to assemble a satisfactory length of spring in the transfiguration task.

"Oh common, Ronald. It was the easiest task to do." Hermione exclaimed. "I can't believe you are in your O.W.L. year and you can't turn matchsticks into a spring."

"Easy for you to say, 'I-earned-twenty-points-for-Gryffindor' Granger." Ron mocked Hermione for her excellent performance.

"Real mature from you, Ron." Hermione replied as they sat for lunch on the Gryffindor table.

"Cut it out guys, let's have a quiet meal. Ok?" Harry tried to pacify the brewing quarrel. Harry noticed that Neville was awfully quiet since the end of the transfiguration class. He was sitting next to Ron, opposite to Harry so Harry nudged his foot under the table. "You alright, Nev?"

"Yeah." Neville replied but his mind was somewhere else.

"What is it about Neville?" Hermione probed him when he didn't answer any further.

"You were right, Hermione, like you always are. I couldn't complete the task, the simplest task in transfiguration. How am I supposed to pass the O.W.L.s?" Neville replied after a lot of thinking. "I am useless."

Harry could see that the confidence that was built in Neville through the last year was severely damaged by today's class. He was on his way to a positive physical transformation but it did not reflect in his magical capabilities. "We will find a way to make you better, Nev. I am sure Hermione would know just what to do."

"I wish I could be that optimistic." Neville left the great hall with those words. He didn't even talk to Hannah before walking out of the great hall.

"And I thought I had it bad." Ron commented as he saw Neville leave. "What should we do?"

"I have no idea." Hermione answered before she stood up and walked to Hannah.

"Hey Hannah, can I talk to you for a moment?" Hermione leaned closer to the Hufflepuff girl.

"What's up, Hermione?" Hannah asked in a upbeat tone.

"Can you come over to our table, you too Susan?" Hermione asked pointing to the Gryffindor table where Harry and Ron were sitting.

"Yeah, sure." Hannah replied when she received a nod of agreement from Susan.

"What's going on, guys?" Susan asked as she sat next to Harry while Hannah took the seat next to Ron.

"Neville just left in the middle of the meal, he didn't even touch food." Ron answered for the three of them.

"He was upset, Hannah. You should go and talk to him." Harry told Hannah worriedly.

Hannah just turned to Ron with a accusatory look in her eyes. "What did you do? What did you say to him this time?"

"I didn't do anything, I'm innocent." Ron went total defensive and raised his arms to show that he meant what he said.

"It's not him, Hannah. Neville is just upset because he couldn't complete the transfiguration task. He is questioning himself." Hermione clarified the reason of Neville's blue mood. "He thinks he is useless and unworthy."

"You should go and cheer him up, Han." Susan suggested to her best friend who agreed without a moment's thought.

"I should leave now, I need to find him before the lunch is over." Hannah left to find her doubting boyfriend as the group waved her bye.

"I don't understand what's the problem?" Harry had his head in his hands. "He is doing good in our physical training."

"No doubt he has grown in the right proportions." Ron commented while shoveling food into his mouth. All the drama going around him hadn't affected his appetite much.

"He might be going through some emotional crisis." Susan pointed out. She had to clarify her views when Harry gave her a questioning look. "You can't perform magic if you are emotionally unstable. Emotional fluctuations can create issues in performing magic. Right, Hermione?"

"The idea is right, Susan but I don't think its that." Hermione was contemplating her thoughts, her chin resting on her palm. "He was in a good mood after DADA and he hasn't been through any emotional wreckage in the past few days to have that impact."

"Then what could it be?" Harry spoke out, although the thought was an internal one. The reaction was shrugs and head bobs of understanding but uncertainty of the answer to it.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Hannah crossed the lawns as she came closer to the one place where she knew Neville goes whenever he is conflicted or worried or angry, the only place where he experiences solitude, the greenhouse. She knocked at the glass door of the greenhouse where she could see Neville's blurry outline and turned the knob when there was no response from the other side.

"Hey, big guy." Hannah said cautiously as she stepped inside the greenhouse and locked the door from the inside so that they wouldn't be disturbed. "Mind if I join?"

Neville had his back turned towards her, all the response Hannah received from his for her question was a non-committal shrug of acknowledgement. Neville was cleaning the gardening tools when Hannah walked in and placed her gentle hand on his arm. It didn't stop Neville's work but it conveyed that she was there if he wanted to talk.

All Neville could do was drop the tools and just rested his hands on the worktable, his head bowed down. A thousand thoughts rushing through his mind but there was only one emotion. It was the feeling of worthlessness, of self-doubt, the fear of disappointing his grandmother and parents, all wrapped in one. He didn't want to break down, he didn't want to cry in front of Hannah, he didn't want her to know that he was so weak. He had to rein in his wandering emotions. He took a couple of deep breaths before he started to feel a bit more in control of himself.

"I need some time alone, Hannah." Neville said in a raspy but shaking voice, without making any eye-contact. "I will see you later."

Hannah wasn't sure how to make him feel better, she had no idea what to do so she did what she thought was the best option. She said nothing, she just wraped her arms around Neville from behind, bringing him in a tight embrace, her nose nuzzling his neck. She gave a light pack on the side of his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel his unsteady and shaky breathing, she could also sense his efforts of trying to stabilize his rowdy emotions and unsteady breathing. "You are better than you think, I believe in you and so should you."

"Yeah. Tell that to those partially transfigured matchsticks." Neville just scoffed at her thoughtful words.

"You don't need to exhibit yourself, I know you and I appreciate who you are." She just chuckled at the thought that brewed within the confines of her mischievous mind. "Screw those who doubt you."

"You don't understand, Hannah." Neville sounded defeated.

"Then make me understand, tell me." Hannah begged when Neville unwrapped her hands from around him. She was a bit hurt, not by his words, but by his actions.

"You won't understand even if I explained it." He walked away from her to a corner in the greenhouse and tried to busy himself for the rest of the lunch hour. "Nobody can."

"You underestimate me, Neville." She stepped a bit closer and rested her hand on his shoulder. The tension in Neville's body evaporated a few moments later as he made the decision to tell Hannah what's bothering him so much.

"Promise me, you will never tell anyone about this." The eyes Neville made compelled Hannah to give him her word. "I won't tell a soul."

Neville just nodded, he still needed some time to get his words in line and muster enough courage to implement his decision. He took a deep breath before releasing it shakily, trying to strengthen his resolve about discussing the matter. "Let me ask you first, Hannah. What's your greatest fear?"

He waited as Hannah contemplated her answer. "Being eaten by the giant squid."

An unexpected chuckle escaped Neville on Hannah's answer. "I'm trying to be serious here, Han."

"Me too, you are the one laughing." She had the innocent and cute look on her face. The tension was knocked down a couple of levels in just a few words and that was a good thing. "You don't need to be gloomy or brooding or worried. Isn't that Harry's forte?"

That got a hearty laughter out of Neville and Hannah couldn't help but join in. "Don't tell him that I said it okay, Nev?"

"I won't, although I am pretty sure Hermione would like to know." Neville responded in the same light manner.

"She is not too different, she worries too much." Hannah continued the banter. "But she is a good influence on Harry. He would've been rotten spoiled in Ron's company."

"Ron's gonna love your remarks about his potential influence on Harry." Neville teased her as he brought her closer in a loose embrace. But their moment was broken as the door to the greenhouse opened as moment later as Madam Sprout entered the greenhouse. The couple jumped away from each other as a knee-jerk reaction, their faces as red as a ripe tomato.

"Five points from each of you for this incident. Mr. Longbottom, I didn't allow you to use the greenhouse in your free time for these activities." Sprout was shocked and it was evident from her expressions. "Ms. Abbott, I expected more sincerity from a student of my house."

"I'm sorry professor, it's my fault." Neville tried to defend Hannah.

"I can imagine that." Sprout commented. "Kids these days!"

"No, no, professor, you are getting it wrong." He looked at Hannah before turning back towards Sprout. "I was upset about something and Hannah was just came to talk to me."

"Behind a locked door, no less." Sprout replied, more as a teasing accusation. The couple turned even darker shade of scarlet, if that was even possible and Neville started stuttering in his response. Hannah had to rescue the situation. "I'm sorry professor, it won't happen again. We will maintain the decorum."

"Good. Now, out of here, you two." Sprout waved them to leave quickly. "Quick."

"Sorry, Madam Sprout." Both of them chimed as they walked out of the greenhouse with smiles on their faces. They sprinted across the school grounds as the lunch was about to end but there was discussion was just put on hold. As they came nearer to the entrance to the great hall, Hannah stopped him with a firm hand on his chest. "Listen to me and cement it in your Herbology brain. Doubting yourself isn't what you need. I believe in you and I think that should be encouragement enough to believe in yourself. Have I made myself clear, Longbottom?"

"Crystal." Neville replied before they entered the great hall, the lunch was about to end but they might still be able to get something to eat.

"Hey look, the weird couple is back." Ron announced their entrance to his three friends sitting with him. "Took you long enough to cheer him up, Hannah. Your snogging sessions are way overstretched, Nev."

There was laughter for the moment as they stood up to walk out of the great hall to their next lecture.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He was standing at the window of the room he had occupied since his return. The sky was turning purple as the night drew closer, a light warm breeze was present with played with the loose dark robes of his. He looked like death incarnated in the light of dusk, his pale gray skin and obsidian scales amplifying the effect to a great extent.

There was a click behind him, the click of the door knob being turned. He waited for his servant who entered through the door and bowed to him. "My lord, he is here."

He was in no mood to talk so he just waved his hand, the free one. Because the other hand was patting the head of his pet snake, Nagini who was whispering something in Parseltongue. He didn't look at her, he didn't have to. " _I know, Nagini, he smells like a rat. You can have him for lunch if he makes another mistake, but right now he is useful._ "

"My Lord." There was another man, bowing to him, dressed in an elegant black dress robe. His pale blonde hair standing in stark contrast to his outfit.

"Ah, Lucius." One would have thought they could get accustomed to the hissing voice but they would have been dearly wrong. "It needs to be done, tonight."

"Yes, my lord. It will be done, as you have planned." The Death Eater answered. "Forgive me, my lord but isn't there any other way to accomplish it?"

All blood drained out of his face as the red eyes of his master focused on him. Voldemort needed no words to convey his anger towards his follower, Nagini did that job tremendously well. "Never question my orders. Leave!"

"Yes, my lord. Forgive me, my lord." He stuttered in his reply before bowing down and leaving the room the next moment.

Voldemort was contemplating the possibilities of the mission. If Lucius was successful tonight, their work would be cut short exponentially. Then he wouldn't need to execute his backup plan which involved a long term process that required the participation of someone extremely non-cooperative. Although, the ground work for the backup plan was already in place.

He had to wait for the next dawn to decide the next step of his great grand plan.

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please Review.


	25. B2: Chapter 25 - The Patrol & Corridor

Disclaimer : Don't own Harry Potter, although I wish I did but sadly it belongs to JKR.

A/N: Sorry for keeping you are hanging for so long. Without further ado...

Please Review.

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: The Patrol and The Corridor  
**

The great hall was busy with all the eating and talking, ghost moving around, the candles floating in mid-air, all that is expected during the dinner time. The group of four Gryffindors was about to leave so Neville signaled Hannah to meet him outside.

"I will see you guys." Neville rose from his seat to leave.

"See ya," Harry replied while Hermione just gave him a smile. Ron didn't pause his activity of shoveling food into his mouth and just hummed in response.

Once the couple was outside the great hall, they turned and started to walk towards the courtyard. Hannah was silent until they reached it and occupied a bench. "How you doing, Nev?"

"Ok, I guess," Neville answered, his uncertainty clear on his face.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it." Hannah leaned in and curled her arm around his. "We can talk about something cheerful."

"Ahem, and what would that be?" Neville asked, his mind still thinking about telling her his thoughts.

"You know, there is a fourth-year 'Puff, Zacharias Smith." It was half question, half comment. She continued when Neville gave her a nod. "So, the fourth-years were leaving after a Charms lecture and on their way to the great hall, they crossed path with Peeves."

"And what did happen then?" Neville queried.

"Smith got cocky with Peeves and since then he is sporting magenta hair. He hasn't taken off his hat or robe's hood." By the end of the sentence, Hannah was laughing so hard that half her words were difficult to decipher. Neville couldn't help but join in on the laughter, he felt very relaxed at that moment.

"You know, Han, 'Puffs got a great laughing stock," Neville commented lightheartedly, Hannah was relieved to see Neville act normally after the incident of the afternoon.

"Gryffindors are the one to talk. It should be named 'house of idiots and clowns' instead of 'house of brave'." Hannah nudged him with her elbow, one of her eyebrows furrowed.

"Ouch, that scrapped my Gryffindor pride." Neville nudged her back the same way.

It took a moment before the laughter died down, to be replaced by a comfortable silence but the seeds of an uncomfortable discussion were already sown. The inevitable discussion was just around the corner, waiting for them to gather the courage. Neville took a deep breath and sighed, making a decision in the meantime. He needed to get it out of his head, he needed to talk but he didn't want to look weak in front of his girlfriend. More than that, he didn't want her to think that he was actually weak. "Before I tell you about it, please promise me that you won't judge me."

Hannah could see how vulnerable Neville was at that moment. She was aware that he was always considered weak and dumb by many students, but she also knew very well that it was nowhere near the reality. "You don't need to ever worry about that, Nev."

She rested her hand on Neville's shoulder, the gesture of emotional support didn't go unnoticed by Neville. He gave her a nod, to tell her that her words had the right effect. "Gran always told me how great my parents were, are. I know she is proud of them and so am I, hell, my parents are my heroes, Hannah."

He took a shaky breath, his knuckles turned white as his grip on the edge of the bench tightened. "I grew up listening to the stories of my dad's brilliance and my mum's abilities. I always wanted to be exactly like them, I still do."

His grip loosened on the bench, his hands moved to his face, rubbing it, his fingers going into his hairs. "Gran had great expectations from me, she still has. But she doesn't know that I am worse than my father was in his second year. I could never tell her how I am doing in school, she would be so disappointed in me. She thinks I am doing great in school, but if she knew the truth, it would break her heart."

Hannah's hand, which was resting on Neville's shoulder, coiled around him, drawing him closer to her, she rested her head on his. The contact helped Neville somewhat but he still needed verbal assurance. "You can never disappoint her, Nev. You are a kind and loyal person."

"She doesn't care about kind, she wants me to be strong and brave." He sat up straight, looking at Hannah. He had bared himself to her and that vulnerability showed clear in his red-rimmed eyes. "She just wants a replica of my parents, especially of my father. And by the look of my school life, I can tell that I failed her. I am a failure, a disappointment."

"No, you are not." Hannah stood up angrily. She couldn't bear for this self-loathing and self-depreciation to continue. She stood in front of him, both her hands resting on Neville's shoulders. "Look at me and just listen. You are not a failure or a disappointment. You are a good person, anybody would be more than happy to have you as a son or a grandson."

"You will be a great wizard, Neville, I know." She cupped his cheeks with her hands and turned his head so that he was looking straight into her eyes. "You are not supposed to be like your father, you are your own person and you are great at that. You don't need to be the best duelist, you already are brilliant at something and that is Herbology. I have seen the garden at your place which you have been developing this summer. And I know for a fact that your Granma loved it."

She waited for him to absorb and accept her words before she said anything else. "You know hunk, my mum says that I would be Lady Abbott when my father retires from Wizengamot and I expect it wouldn't be too long after my graduation that my father would mentor me to follow his footsteps. But I don't want that."

She sat back on the bench, her eyes looking in the distance. She has never discussed her vision for her future, not even Susan. "I want to be a businesswoman, politics doesn't interest me even remotely. I want to open my own pub like The Three Broomsticks and I would put Madam Puddifoot's tea shop out of business. That place is hideous."

"Yeah, it is." Neville clearly remembered the mentioned tea shop with its 'everything pink' decorations. "Han, why are 'Puff always revolving around food?"

"Well, a badger isn't a great company with an empty stomach, hunger is its worst enemy," Hannah commented with a twisted smile.

"So you are implying that Ron Weasley belongs in Hufflepuff?" Neville asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ahaan. Maybe." Hannah shrugged.

"Why are you always trying to get a hit against Ron?" Neville asked with a confused look. "The Twins are enough for that, don't you think."

"It's personal." There was that mischievous grin on her face. The friendly tussle and exchange of quips was a staple when Hannah and Ron were around each other and the whole group enjoyed their banter. "Don't worry, I won't hurt the ginger, much."

There was the silence again, it was peaceful this time. "Don't think too much, hunk, people can see your potential even if you don't so stop doubting yourself. And those who can't see you for what you are, those dimwits are just blind bats."

Her words and assurances wouldn't completely erase his self-doubt but they were a push in the right direction and Neville was hopeful that he would be able to get through this.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Susan was getting irritated and pissed and most of all, she could feel the hatred for Ronald Weasley at that moment for his foot-in-the-mouth nature. She was on the prefects' patrol with her assigned partner, Draco Malfoy and for Merlin's sake, she wanted to wipe that smug look from his face. The only thing that was keeping her composed was the knowledge that Harry was just a couple of steps behind her, under his invisibility cloak.

She was delighted about the fact that she was one of the handful people who knew about Harry's family heirloom. She felt honored to be considered a close friend to know the secret of the invisibility cloak. She was surprised when Harry asked to talk to her during the lunch while Hannah was trying to cheer Neville up.

"Susan, can I talk to you? Outside?" Harry asked as he finished his lunch and placed his spoon on the plate. Susan looked at Hermione to gauge her reaction, Hermione looked surprised but nothing concerning so she nodded in agreement and stood up from her seat.

"Lead the way, Mr. Potter." Susan extends her arm and waited for Harry to walk ahead. They walked out of the great hall, towards the kitchen. It was deserted at the time, as usual for the mealtimes. Once they were far enough from any eavesdropper, Susan couldn't help but ask, "what's going on, Harry?"

"Hermione told me that you are on the patrolling duty today." It was a statement but Susan took it as a question and nodded in agreement. "I just want to help you get through this."

"It's alright, Harry, I can manage." Susan was happy that Harry cared enough to suggest to her but also felt bad for being underestimated by him.

"I know you are strong and don't need my help." Harry stepped closer and placed his right hand on her shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze to convey that he believed what she was saying. "It's just that it's Malfoy and the ferret can really piss anyone off so just to make sure that you aren't troubled by him."

Susan chuckled at the phrasing of the sentence, her insides felt warm at the concern Harry was showing, it made her gleeful. But then a practical problem came to surface about the plan. "Harry, that's not possible. You can't be outside your common-room during after-hours."

"Oh, believe me, I can, Susan." Harry had a mischievous grin on his face which turned into a smug smile as he explained to her about his family heirloom.

"Wow, it must come handy." Susan was intrigued by this magical artifact. She could understand why it was a secret which was known to a handful of people alive.

"You have no idea." Harry was happily talking about it and this gave her a feeling of satisfaction that Harry is on the way to bury the demons of what he suffered last year. She was brought out of her lost state of deep thinking. "So, do I have your permission to stalk you tonight while being invisible when you are busy wandering along the dark passages of this castle?"

This made her laugh and she did not stifle it. "You have the permission, Mr. Potter."

She was brought out of her reverie when she heard Draco cast a spell. She froze in reaction, subconsciously knowing that Harry was there, yet leaving herself vulnerable to a surprise. Harry had already drawn his wand but it was unnecessary, Draco had his wand pointed out in front of him. Susan missed what the spell did but she was brought out of her stunned state by Draco again.

"Hah! Dimwits." He jerked open the broom closet that was a few steps ahead. "Lumos!"

"Ahha! The princess of the penurious and the dolt from Ravenclaw." The tip of his wand lit and so did the dark broom closet. It was another surprise for Susan and a shock for Harry as they noticed the occupants of the closet. The boy was tall and thin with mop-hair, it was Michael Corner from their year. It wasn't the boy that surprised them, it was the person he was with. The girl was none other than the youngest Weasley. Harry didn't need to hide his shock, the cloak did that for him but Susan's surprise stood in stark contrast to Draco's jubilation. "Looks like someone is in trouble."

Susan recovered quickly from her surprise and before Draco could give them disproportionate punishment, Susan interfered. "Five points each and get going."

"Wait! Nobody is leaving. Head of your houses will be informed and I will recommend you two for a detention." Draco compensated for Susan shooting down his opportunity to intimidate Ginny Weasley. "I won't be lenient on the likes of you, Weasley."

"You should be careful, Ferret or you might get turned back in your real form," Ginny responded, her temper getting better of her. Susan had to intervene before the situation worsened. "Five more points from Gryffindor for the unnecessary reaction, Ginny. Leave now or I would be telling about this incident to McGonagall myself."

Ginny wasn't ready to take her words seriously but Michael had to drag her away from further escalation of the confrontation. "Let's go, Ginny, it's better that way."

Draco waited till the couple was out of earshot before turning towards Susan, his nose flared and his eyes reflecting the anger. His pointed-finger inches away from Susan's chin, he was taking full advantage of his height to intimidate her. "Never undermine my authority, Bones or you will face the consequences."

Susan wasn't one to back out of a confrontation, even though she looked like a soft target. "Lower your finger, Malfoy. Keep in mind that we have the same authority."

There was that smirk again, followed by the trademark sneer. He lowered his arm and stuffed both his hands in his pockets before taking a step back. "You should be careful with whom you stand, Bones. Be very careful as the times are changing."

"Was that a threat, Malfoy? My aunt won't be very pleased with such a behavior." Susan tried to use Malfoy's own tactic of intimidation but it seemed as if she failed.

"It wasn't a threat, merely the reality. Your aunt has already faced the consequences of sticking with the wrong crowd." He turned to walk away, the victorious smile on his face. "Severity of the consequences will be extreme if you don't realize the fault in your judgment."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

There were no more words spoken between the two prefects for the rest of the evening. Harry was walking with Susan who was walking a good ten paces behind Malfoy who was enjoying the power he wielded. They were walking towards the office of McGonagall to hand her over the list of rule-breakers and the corresponding points deducted.

Malfoy knocked on the door of her office, it echoed through the empty corridor, Susan had never felt this spooked with her surroundings. The door swung open, providing the entrance to the office. As they entered the room, McGonagall asked them about their first patrols as prefects.

"I hope you had an uneventful evening," McGonagall asked from her seat behind the ornate desk, a cup of tea in her hand.

"Quite contrary, we had our hands full this evening." He glanced at Susan, gave her a wicked smile before turning back to McGonagall. "But nothing out of ordinary."

Susan was slightly taken aback by the response. She was certain that he was going to point out the 'Ginny incident' and maybe tell her that most of the rule-breakers were predominantly from Gryffindor. She didn't get any chance to get her footing before McGonagall shooed them away. "If that's all, off you two go."

They bid their farewells to the Deputy Headmistress before stepping out of her office. "You should pick your friends wisely, Bones, and enemies even more so."

Draco didn't even look at her before going his own way. Susan was left puzzled but then she remembered that Harry was there too. "You still here?"

"Here," Harry answered but didn't remove the cloak, he preferred to be some distance away from McGonagall's office before doing so. They started on their way to Hufflepuff common room.

Susan didn't need him to walk her back and she made it clear. "Thanks for the tailing Harry but I can go to my common room on my own."

"A gentlemen never leaves the lady halfway from the home," Harry commented with a wink. "Hermione would bite my head off if she came to know that I left you at McGonagall's doorstep."

Susan didn't protest much and to avoid awkward pauses, she attempted a conversation. "What do you think of my aunt Amy?"

Harry just shrugged. "Seems pretty good."

When he didn't say anything further at all, she tried again to rekindle the conversation. She hated to be quiet. "You think she is a good teacher?"

"Till now, better than Quirrell and Lockhart, very much in the same league of Lupin, but you have to give credit to the fake-Moody for the grand entrance." Harry was also trying to be in a positive mood, trying to keep away the details of the patrol from his mind for the time being. He bumped his shoulder to get a response out of her. "Your aunt didn't beat him, he had style."

"No one can beat the revolving blue-eye, Mr. Potter." She bumped him back, Harry had to slightly correct his footing after that. "And he got Neville talking. That's something."

"Yeah, even Prof. Sprout couldn't do it." Harry was in his thinking mode, not looking ahead. "Even Snape was quiet last year, maybe he too was wary about Moody."

In his focused thinking state, he didn't see a couple of stairs in front of him and stumbled, losing his balance completely. Susan tried to stop his fall but it didn't help at all. She got pulled down too as they landed hard on the floor, Susan falling on Harry's back. Harry couldn't control his laughter as he waited for Susan to get off him and then got back on his feet, dusting his robes with his hands. "If my girlfriend thought that you fell on me intentionally, she would hex you first and I will be next in line."

"I like not being hexed more than lying on a guy, Potter." She replied with cheek for Harry's remark. "But I think I can hold my own against Hermione."

"Hah! You wish." Harry scoffed, throwing his arms up to emphasize his point. "She would wipe the floor with your sorry behind without breaking a sweat."

"Too confident about your girlfriend's chances?" Susan asked with a raised eyebrow and folded arms.

"I am confident of her knowledge and skills with a wand," Harry replied with the same cheek. "You seem pretty confident of your chances."

"We Bones stand our ground Mr. Potter, whatever be the opposition," Susan said in the element of emotion.

"You would remain standing when Hermione stuns you and then you will fall flat backward. I have seen that happen. In Ron's words, "it was brilliant but scary!". Harry wasn't going to stop defending his girlfriend.

"We will see, Mr. Potter!" She gave him a look that held a friendly challenge. But they couldn't maintain that banter any longer and the tension was released as Susan turned to walk towards her common room.

"Hey Susan, can I ask you something?" Harry had something on his mind that he wanted to ask Susan for a long time but never got the right opportunity. Susan gave him an affirmative nod, so Harry continued with his question. "Last year, when the tournament was taking place, I never saw your aunt."

"Yeah, I know. She wanted to be involved in the management and security of the tournament. And she wanted to come and see the events too. But Fudge had ordered that Aurors should stay away from this whole event so that they wouldn't spook the guests with their presence." Harry gave her a confused look. "I know it sounds stupid because it is. Fudge was just trying to show that everything was normal here. Politics!"

"Got no interest in politics?" Harry asked her as they neared their destination. "With your aunt being a part of the Ministry and all."

"I could care less about politics." Susan made a disgusted face as if even the words made her nauseous. "I would prefer to be left alone with my life."

Harry understood her sentiments but did not speak anything in response. That was the last piece of conversation they had before they reached the entrance to her common room and bid farewell for the night.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It was the first weekend after the classes began, the school was abuzz with an energy that was the clear sign that the burden of studies wasn't much in the first week. The seventh year students of Gryffindor (except the Head Boy) acted like there was nothing important in the school, except Quidditch and whatever the Twins were busy with. Ron and Hermione both had been on their prefect patrols and it was noteworthy that there were no problems as of that point.

Although Ron had a poker face when he returned from the patrol duty. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face and a blush covered his freckled skin as the Gryffindor mates of his inquired about his evening. All he said to the group was that his sins of last Yule Ball were now washed away and he was forgiven, getting a new beginning with Parvati as a result. What he didn't tell was, he had to get on both his knees and ask Padma for her forgiveness with folded hands. That wasn't all, he had to go to the library with her and carry all the books that Padma needed from library to her common room till Halloween. Ron wasn't complaining particularly about spending extra alone time with the graceful and gorgeous Ravenclaw prefect.

Hermione's patrol duty was preceded by a small disagreement with Harry.

Hermione got up from the couch and started to leave for her patrol duty but she stopped as Harry called her from behind. " 'Mione, wait a moment for me, I will be back from the dorm."

Hermione wasn't sure what he meant by that. "What? Why?"

Harry motioned her to sit on the couch again so he can tell her the reason. "My cloak is in the trunk. I will get that and we can be on our way to your patrol duty."

Hermione was shaking her head as if she was starting to get irritated with the naivety of a child. "You don't need to tail me, Harry, I can take care of myself."

"I am well aware of that and I agree." Harry was trying to phrase it so that he didn't cause any more strain in the argument. "I would feel better if I accompanied you, just like I did with Susan."

"She had patrol duty with Malfoy, I don't." Hermione tried to tell him calmly although the response was flat. "I will be with Terry and I have known him for the last two years."

This was brand-new information for Harry, he never knew that Hermione had any guy friends apart from their mutual friend-circle. And it reflected well on his face. "What? How?"

"We share arithmancy together, he was my project partner last year," Hermione replied with a concerned look. "I told you, don't you remember?"

Harry was sure that this never came up or maybe it did but he was worried about something more important. "I don't think so."

Hermione shrugged, "Anyways, he is a decent person, respectful and I don't think that there is any chance of me getting into any sort of trouble with him."

"Yeah, that department is my monopoly," Harry said sarcastically. The sarcasm was completely amiss on Hermione as she replied, "exactly. We will talk when I get back, finish your homework in my absence, would you?"

Truth be told, Harry was jealous. He was jealous that his girlfriend would be walking around the ancient castle with another guy friend of hers during the beautiful night. But he knew that telling this to her would get him a mild scolding which he didn't want to go through right now. So he did the right thing and kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to start an argument about something this trivial but he was expecting that Hermione is more understanding and considerate about it without the need of him explicitly explaining it to her.

Besides, it gave him the opportunity to check out the third-floor corridor in person, to keep his mind off the fact that his girlfriend was wandering the castle with Terry Boot. He pulled out the map from his pocket after collecting the cloak from his trunk. He stepped out of the common room and activated the map, the cloak stuffed in his pocket. He managed to avoid even the slightest possibility of a confrontation with another human being. Although he had to dodge Nearly Headless Nick.

He felt the light coolness on his body as the featherweight heirloom of his covered his body as he entered the corridor next to his destination. He deactivated the map and stuffing it in his pocket before going ahead, yet keeping his wand tightly gripped in his hand. The door to the prohibited corridor was locked as expected but all it took to unlock it was 'Alohomora!'

The door swung open with a screeching sound, Harry entered the long corridor, lined with torches in the brackets on both the sides of the corridor, they lit up as Harry took a step forward. It was dusty, the thick layer of dust covered the whole floor, webs were adorning the walls and ceiling like ghostly wall hangings. It looked like no one had entered the corridor since the first year but he knew it was occupied by the two pranksters. They had done a great job in hiding all the shreds of evidence of their presence, even their footprints on the floor. Harry removed the cloak, he wouldn't need it unless someone else barged in. He needed to lock the door before going ahead to prevent that scenario. He put up a ward just in case some couple unlocked it and entered, in search of privacy.

His footsteps echoed through the empty and silent corridor, sounding as harsh as a cannon blast to his ears in the eerie silence of the setting. The door to the chamber needed unlocking before it swung open. Harry had never noticed the room in his two previous visits to this location, all his attention was commanded by 'Fluffy' then.

The cube-shaped room was forty feet high by his estimation, the trap door was in the center of the floor. There was no light source within the confines of this room and except the entrance and the trapdoor, the only article present in the room was the hook to tie up Fluffy. The room was engulfed in darkness after Harry closed the door and locked it from inside. The next moment, it was flooded with the ethereal silvery white light as Harry's wand tip lit up with the incantation of 'Lumos'. Harry opened the trapdoor, expecting Devil's Snare on the other end of the column. He was surprised to find a rope ladder hanging there. It was a more than an acceptable and sophisticated alternative to Harry's plan of using 'Ascendio' to get back up on his way back, although slower.

He stuffed his wand in his front pocket, hilt first so that both his hands were free for use and he climbed down through the dark and hollow column of stone. It took him around an hour to traverse the whole length of the hidden chamber. He was observing every bit of it, remembering all the memories he had of the place. He was walking down the long stairway and was about to reach 'The Hall of Twelve Arches', for the lack of knowledge of the real name of the location, it was the place where the Mirror of Erised was kept. There were twelve arches, five on each long side of the rectangular hall, one each on the rest two sides. There were seven steps of stairs going down from all sides to the floor of the hall. The mirror wasn't there anymore but a ghost was hovering at that spot, its back towards Harry.

Harry was in a dilemma, should he return without being seen by the ghost or should he wear his cloak and hide behind a pillar to be unnoticed by the ghost. He picked the second option. The ghost was that of a woman, her attire was a medieval style gown, reaching to the floor where it turned into a ghostly mist. Her hair was open, cascading her back from view, reaching to her waist.

"Spying is an unacceptable activity, more than wandering the castle at this hour." The ghost said, her voice sounded rough to Harry's ears as if it wasn't used for years. All blood drained from his face as the ghost recognized his presence. He was worried that he would get the biggest point deduction and detention of his life today if the ghost alerted the teachers.

Harry stepped out from his hiding spot behind the pillar of the arch, the cloak sliding from his head, revealing his face and then sliding down to pool at his feet. He needed to think and do something to salvage the situation. "Pardon me, my lady. I didn't want to intrude nor did I want to disturb your peace."

Harry took a tentative step forward, both his hands raised above his shoulder to signal that he meant no harm or ill-will. He noticed that the Ghost looked angry and Harry could understand why. Before Harry could say anything more, the ghost turned into a silver orb of light and passed through the wall on the far side of the hall. Harry couldn't remember the name of the ghost but he was certain that he had seen her before, hell, all he could remember was that she was some Lady.

As the ghost disappeared, another dreadful thought crossed his mind. 'What if the ghost informs McGonagall or worse, Snape.' He picked up his cloak and ran as fast as he could, his breath heavy as he reached the rope ladder. It took him another minute to exit the prohibited corridor. He thought about putting something that he learned very recently to his use. He pointed his wand at his own feet. 'Silencio'

The result was better than he had expected, there was no noise as his feet touched the solid surface. He pulled his cloak over him and dashed towards the common room. He was about to reach the portrait of the Fat Lady when someone called him from the opposite direction of the portrait. "Slow Down, Mr. Potter."

His breath caught in his throat as the feeling of dread overcame him. He turned to see the source of the voice. His face turned into a frown and he removed his cloak in a single fluid motion and rolled it on his arm. "You minx!"

There was standing Hermione, laughing like mad but without any sound except the occasional snort. Her hands on her stomach, trying to control herself.

"Sorry, but it was worth, your reaction was memorable." She said amidst her laugh.

"You will pay." Harry ran towards her and caught her before she could react. A tickle attack began from Harry. Hermione's noiseless snorty laugh increased even more. "Harry... Stoohpp... nowww... Gettt... away..."

Their activities were interrupted as they heard footsteps approaching the corridor. Harry didn't waste any more time in covering both of them in his cloak and nudged her to enter the common room. They entered the common room unnoticed and walked up to the base of the stairs leading to the dormitories as it shadowed them from the few of anyone sitting in the common room before removing the cloak and walking out of to the common room. Luckily the person coming in was just Ron.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, stepping out from the staircase. Finding the couch occupied, she sat on a chair closer to the staircase, signaling Ron to take the opposite chair. "You weren't on patrol duty."

"Enjoying the perks." He replied, flopping down the chair. His hair was wet, not so much so that water would drip down but enough so that his hair stuck to the side of his face. "Perfects' Bath is brilliant you know."

"You aren't allowed outside the common room when off duty during the night, Ronald." Hermione reminded him of the rules of prefects, folding her arms in front of her. Harry dragged another chair closer and sat near Hermione. "Only seventh-year-prefects are. Hopefully, you didn't get us a point deduction."

"Hey! Don't jump on me, ok. Harry was out too." He pointed at Harry, trying to shift focus away from himself. "Besides, nobody crossed my path."

"I have my cloak, Ron." Harry pointed out to his friend. Hermione gave him a look of agreement that conveyed that he said what she would have said.

"Well next time I will borrow the bloody cloak." He replied, irritation clear on his features. "Happy? Can we change the topic now?"

Hermione gave a reluctant nod, while Harry was happy that it didn't turn into an argument. Harry then narrated his trip to the chamber and the incident in the hall. Hermione asked if the ghost was Grey Lady. "Thank Merlin, I couldn't recall her name."

"Yeah, she is the Ghost of Ravenclaw House, doesn't like to talk much." Hermione clarified with a distant look. "I tried to talk to her a couple of times in the first year but she never responded and vanished away."

"Although she is gorgeous, isn't she, mate?" Ron added as received the look from Hermione which he usually gets whenever he says something foolish. "What? I'm just admiring the beauty, no harm in that, is there?"

"I know where your perverted mind is wandering, Ronald Weasley." Hermione scoffed, shifting back in her chair.

"If you know what's in my mind then whose mind is more perverted, Granger?" Ron asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. No reply came from Hermione and Ron cheered for his brilliant wordplay stumping Hermione into speechlessness. He leaned back in his chair, the front legs of which lost contact from the ground. Harry couldn't hold his laughter in and received a punch to his arm from his girlfriend.

"You are incorrigible, Ron." Hermione stood up from her chair and went to her dormitory without wishing Harry goodnight.

"I missed my goodnight kiss because of you." Harry accused Ron with his index finger pointing at Ron.

"Don't look at me, Harry, I'm not giving you one." Ron laughed at his cheek and lost his balance, falling flat on his back, his laughter turning first into shock and then in a groan.

"Serves you right." Harry had a victorious smile.

"Ha ha ha, shut up, already. I have something to tell you." Ron pulled himself back up, turning serious as he sat back on the righted chair. "Let's go to the dorm."

They were on the staircase when Ron continued the conversation. "Sirius called, he wanted to talk to you about something important."

He pulled out the two-way mirror from his robes and handed it to Harry. "Couldn't talk to him in the dorm or common room. I thought, let's try the Prefects' bath."

"Thanks, Ron." Harry was really grateful and surprised as well as Ron's thoughtfulness. "What did he say."

"He wanted you to go and meet Prof. Bones, in private, outside the school time." He said entering the dorm and moving towards his bed. "Bring the mirror along."

"I will do that soon." Harry stuffed the mirror in his bag and zipped it close. "I need to talk to the twins first. Want to come."

"Nah, the bath was too relaxing, want to continue the relaxation." Ron kicked off his shoes and pulled the robes above his head to remove. "I'm going to sleep with my sweetheart now."

He gave an exaggerated kiss to the bed and pillow, Harry chuckled at his actions and turned to leave to talk with the twins. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You mean disturb my peace in the morning, especially on a Saturday morning." Ron quipped as Harry left the room, his head shaking.

He walked up to the entrance to the dorm of seventh-year boys and knocked without hesitation. He had to wait for a few seconds before the door opened slightly and the head of the Quidditch announcer of the school appeared through the crack. "Wassup Harry?"

"Errr... Lee, I wanted to talk to the twins about something." There were some noises coming from the inside of the dorm room, laughter was certainly one of them. "Is it a good time?"

"I'm afraid it's not, Harry. Sorry but can't let you in right now." He replied with an apologetic smile on his face, his dreadlocks going haywire. There was a sound of breaking of glass, Lee turned to see what was happening. Harry noticed that Lee's ears were like a goblin, long and pointy.

"Testing some new stuff?" Harry asked, curious about the goblin-ears.

'Who is it, Lee?' One of the twins spoke from the inside of the room. "It's Harry!"

'Let him in!' Lee opened the door to allow Harry entry. The room gave Harry a mild shock, mild because Harry was expecting a plethora of changes in the dormitory, they exceeded his expectations by a relatively small margin. The room had a look of a workshop, the three four-poster beds pushed to one side of the room, with a compartmentalization between each of the three. The opposite side of the room had a three-feet wide workbench with various materials stacked and dumped on the top, a couple of cauldrons bubbling and steaming. On the side opposite the door, there were cabinets, shelves, and cupboards. In front of it were three tables joined to make a big one, around which sat the rest of Gryffindor Quidditch team. Alicia called him over as the rest greeted him. "Heya Harry, join us."

The table had butterbeer bottles, fire whiskey bottles and shot glasses, a bowl filled with weird looking candies and a stack of black and white cards. Harry pulled a chair from the workshop side and sat with Katie on his left and Fred on his right. Harry turned to look at the twins, "having a party?"

"Oh no, no, it's just the weekly unwinding," Fred answered, raising his mug to take a swig.

"Pick a board game, add our flavor to it and have fun." George continued. "Want to play? We just started."

"Umm... sorry guys but maybe some other time?" Harry replied uncertainly.

"Oh, you are definitely playing Harry." Angelina chimed in. "I'll explain the game. There are a set of cards, white ones are the 'Question' cards and black ones are the 'Action' cards. If you get a white card, the person on your left would ask you a question which you have to answer truthfully. If you get the black card, you can either do the dare or have to take a candy. Or you can pass by taking a shot of firewhisky in either pick."

"Let's make it butter-beer for him, he is just fifteen," Katie commented and the rest of them agreed.

"Wait a minute, why is the candy an option to dare?" Harry asked with a real confusion reflecting on his face.

"Because we made them." The twins said in unison.

"Got it." Harry gave a nod. "And I believe Lee's ears is the result of it?"

"Good observation, Harry." Alicia praised but it made everyone laugh as she sounded like a trumpet.

"Sorry to disappoint you all but I just came for a quick chat with these two." His thumb pointed towards the twins. "Needed to ask something important. But I promise I will join your Friday unwinding some other time."

"So Harry, what did you want to ask us?" Fred asked, passing a candy to Harry. Harry wouldn't have picked one from the bowl but he had to accept the one Fred passed to him. "Don't worry, it's harmless and just a bit of laugh."

Harry took the candy but kept it in his hand. He wasn't going to be a soft target for the pranks of these two. "Maybe after we talk about what I wanted to ask."

"The corridor we talked about, how far did you venture inside it?" Harry asked after receiving nods from both the twins and assurance that it was safe to talk in front of all of them.

"We examined the area to its farthest extent," George replied, his face serious for the first time since Harry entered the dorm. "But all we needed was the first hall in the chamber. So, we didn't bother much about the rest of it."

"Yeah, the rest of the area was locked for the most part, although sometimes lovebirds came in the outer corridor for some alone time." Fred continued the explanation in the same tone as his twin. "Although, we had put some protections against someone trying to enter the entrance chamber."

"Ok, great." Harry relaxed with that answer, he had assumed that the twins had seen what lay throughout the chamber, the things had he had to go through in his quest to stop Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. "So, there was nothing out of place, right?"

"Except the huge chessboard, no, nothing was out of the place." George provided him with the answer. "If you want some help with the warding off that place, we still have the scheme that Bill helped us design. Just ask if you want that."

"Thanks, guys, really appreciate it," Harry said and stood up from his chair to leave when the twins interrupted his exit.

"Not so fast, Harry," Fred said with a mischievous grin.

"Tell us what that candy taste like first." George injected the rest of the thought.

Harry decided that he can do that much for them for their honesty and help, although he was certainly not fond of eating something that was the creation of the twins. "Okay, fair enough."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was on his way back to his dorm, it had been fifteen minutes since he went to the seventh-year dorm. He noticed that Hermione was sitting in front of the door to his dorm, a book in her hand and the tip of her wand lit. He leaned on the side wall of the gallery of fifth-year dorms. "Hello 'Mione."

Harry tried to be as smooth as possible with his pronunciation but a weird slur was present in his voice or just the sound that came out. Hermione jumped as he spoke, she was completely immersed in the book. She got another shock as her eyes moved to his face. He had grey bunny ears coming out off his head and his nose was transformed into a bunny nose. Hermione stood up from her position, her arms crossed in front of her, holding the book close to her body, a frown on her face. "What is this and where have you been?"

"With the twins." Harry stepped closer and put his arms on around her shoulder, his ears flipping around. "Needed to ask them something."

"Did they hexed you or something?" Hermione touched his nose and checked his ears, they felt as real as a rabbit's. "Transforming a student in the school is not allowed, I need to have a chat with them."

She was horrified that the twins would transform Harry's ears and nose as part of a prank. She intended to give them a piece of her mind but Harry stopped her by putting both his arms on her shoulders from behind and shifting his weight on her. He said softly in her ears, nuzzling her neck with his furry nose, "It's ok, 'Mione, I agreed to do it".

"What?" Hermione could not comprehend why he would agree to do something like that, she turned in his arms to look at him again. "Why would you subject yourself to such a prank?"

"Don't worry, Hermione, it's safe. Plus, it would wear off within an hour." Harry answered with a cheeky grin, his mind wandering towards a wicked idea. "Moreover, I am thinking of experimenting with something."

He leaned in to kiss her, she pulled back of a moment but then relented and decided to go for it. The kiss didn't last more than a couple of seconds as Hermione started to laugh. Harry could not help but ask her. "What's so funny?"

"It tickles, my nose is ticklish," Hermione answered. She pushed him back again as he leaned in for another kiss. Their moment was interrupted by the door to the fifth-year dorm opening.

"Guys, please find someplace, people are trying to sleep." Neville walked out, still half asleep, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to see clearly. But the first thing he saw was the transformation Harry had had. "Merlin's bottom, what's that?"

"Just a prank from the twins, I will tell you tomorrow and sorry to disturb you," Harry said, his voice coming out at squeaky, making both his fellow Gryffindors chuckle. "Good night, Nev."

" 'Night." Neville turned and closed the door after him, leaving the couple alone in the corridor.

"We should probably sleep too, I will tell you everything tomorrow at breakfast," Harry told her and she agreed. She gave him a peck on the lips before leaving to go to her own dorm.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was at the house table, having breakfast when The Daily Prophet was delivered to him by a delivery owl. Harry put it aside, not wanting to read it while having his first meal. Hermione didn't waste any time in snatching the newspaper and started reading it. Her expressions began to change as she read ahead. Her feature molding into an angry scowl. She just passed it to Harry to read the lead article. Harry's reaction changed even faster.

'Former Department Head Under Departmental Review and Enquiry'

By Regina Cogburn

The new DMLE Director, Lord Corban Yaxley has spoken to the reporters this evening after authorizing a thorough inquiry into the activities of the department prior to his appointment as the director. He has mentioned that after the primary investigation and review of the working of the department, he had noticed an abundance of irregularities and lack of professionalism under the directorship of the previous department head.

"After a surface review of the working of the department under the last director of this prestigious department, a plethora of glaring irregularities have been brought to my notice which needs some explaining and rectifications."

Upon further probing he had explained that as the director of the department, he had launched a probe into the functioning of the department in the past. This 'Review Probe' submitted its report yesterday and due to nature of the matter, a thorough inquiry needed to be authorized post-haste.

"Many pending investigations have been neglected for months now, the arbitrary nature of the allocation of the cases has also been observed. Some crucial investigations have been wilfully delayed and haven't been looked into for a considerably long time. Being the 'Master of Roster', it is the duty of the director of DMLE to assign an Auror to such investigation and it's the job of the Head Auror to monitor the progress of investigation underway. There has been a serious deficit of professionalism in the conduct of the people in these esteemed positions."

Moreover, Lord Yaxley had told that all individuals involved or related to the matter will be questioned and enquired by a select panel of esteemed individuals from the wizarding community of Britain. "We are here to serve the wizarding population of Britain and each and every mistake committed in the past needs to be brought to light and rectified. I have been appointed to set things straight in this department and I intend to do just that."

The high profile individuals under the examining eyes are former DMLE Director Madam Bones and Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. Another important person is the lead investigator in Sirius Black's escape and the ensued search operation Auror Sturgis Podmore who is already undertrial for trespassing in the Department of Mysteries and can be sentenced to Azkaban for six-months. Auror Hestia Jones has also been included in the list of people to be investigated, readers might remember that she is the lead investigator in the disappearance of a Hogwarts' student Cedric Diggory in the aftermath of the multi-school event in June.

The inquiry is authorized through the executive order of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, Madam Dolores Jane Umbridge.

We, at The Daily Prophet, hope that this crusade to get rid of deeprooted inefficiency in the ministry for the good of the families of wizarding Britain.

Harry's first instinct was to turn and look at Susan to check if she had read the news and see her reaction to it. She had certainly read the news as her eyes were focussed on her aunt sitting at the teachers' table. She looked as shocked as her aunt, eyes wide open yet a look of questioning in it. He also noticed that Susan was not the only person in the hall looking at Madam Bones. Madam Bones did not react to the news, nor did she react to the eyes focussed on her, observing every action of hers. She finished her breakfast and made a graceful exit from the Great Hall, Susan followed the suite. She didn't even look at the group of her Gryffindor friends as she walked out of the hall.

"I need to talk to Padfoot." Harry looked at Hermione, putting down his cutlery. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." She finished her breakfast and stood up to leave, signaling Ron to come too. He motioned them to go and that he would join them soon.

The couple went to the Gryffindor Tower and into the fifth-year boys' dorm. It was a good thing that no one was there, providing them the necessary privacy. Harry had just taken out the enchanted mirror when Ron walked in, he closed the door behind him and put the latch on.

"Sirius!" Harry called in his mirror. A few moments later, the face of his godfather appeared in the said object.

Sirius noticed the look on Harry's face and guessed the reason behind the worries. "Read the article?"

"Yeah." Harry gave a solemn nod and shifted slightly on his bed so that Ron could sit on his left, Hermione had already occupied the right-hand side of his. "It doesn't look good."

"It's worse than it looks." Sirius pointed out. He looked stressed and tired, more than when they left a week ago.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, he hadn't read the newspaper and had no idea what they were talking about.

"Madam Bones is under investigation," Hermione replied. "And Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore."

"And your father," Sirius commented, his eyes fixed at Ron. He saw the absolute shock on the faces of the three Gryffindors.

"What? Why? Bloody hell!" Ron finally found his voice. "What do they think they are doing? Have they gone mad?"

"Calm down, Ron." Harry tried his best to keep his temper under check. "Order and Dumbledore must be doing something to handle this."

"We had a meeting yesterday when we found out about this. We were caught completely off-guard and by the time we decided on a plan of action, the news was already under publication." Sirius told them, rubbing his growing but a well-maintained beard. "Hopefully we will be able to do some damage-control but right now all we are able to do is talk to the members of Wizengamot. They are responsible for selecting the members of the Select Committee. We are trying to get our members on it."

"And how are they selected?" Harry asked he was curious about the procedure.

"Well, you know that there are fifty members in Wizengamot with permanent membership status and voting powers including the ex-officio members too, while there are ten members with observer status. Every select committee has five members in it, they need not be part of Wizengamot." Sirius was explaining the procedure in a very formal tone, no emotions or expressions present on his face. "The process begins with nominations, every nominee requires five seconders, for the nomination to be valid. Nominees can be anybody and the seconders can be any member of the Wizengamot, regardless of his membership status."

"That sounds logical. And the next part?" Harry asked, not getting what the catch was.

"Then the permanent members are asked to arrange their choice in the order of preference. It's a single transferable vote system to achieve proportional representation. But every member needs at least twenty-five votes to be a member of the select committee." Sirius completed his explanation with a sigh. "It's been a long time since the last time I had to explain it to someone."

"That's bad." Hermione pointed out. "Dumbledore must be having a nightmare of a time arranging the votes."

"Why is it so bad?" Harry had to ask, he didn't get why proportional representation would be bad.

"Because the if the majority of the Wizengamot is leaning to one side, you could replicate the same in the committee with some good poll-engineering and floor management." Ron tried to explain, he had surprised himself with the immediate understanding of how it would work and affect the composition of the committee.

"Floor-management?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"To control the votes to provide a particular favorable outcome," Sirius explained further to make Harry understand.

"But that would mean that the committee will be against the people on our side." The seriousness of the complexity dawned on Harry.

"Dumbledore is trying to engineer a list of nominees least unfavorable to Wizengamot and yet leaning towards us," Sirius said, providing some insight into their plan of action. "It's a real pain though. Because if members of Wizengamot are under the investigation or the inquiry, they can not participate in the process of the selection of the committee in any capacity. That leaves us with a very small number of options."

"What would happen to those who are being enquired?" Hermione asked, hopeful that the extent of the punishment for these frivolous inquiries is monetary in nature, at best.

"They will lose their jobs, they might lose their membership of the Wizengamot and they might end up in Azkaban for up to six months," Sirius answered somberly. "Don't worry much, we have contingency plans in place too."

"And what are those?" Ron was skeptical about this plan, he was justified in it as his father was also being enquired about.

"We are prioritizing whom we can save if the proceedings go completely against us." Sirius' eyes were focussed on the floor, he knew that the contingency meant that some people might end up worse than anyone would expect.

Ron was the most concerned and he verbalized his thoughts on the matter. "I hope dad is high on that list."

"He is certainly close to the top." Sirius tried his best to assure the kid. "Dumbledore wouldn't let Arthur into any serious danger, Ron."

"I hope so," Harry said it out loud, there wasn't much hope in those words but he tried. "When is it scheduled for."

"Nominations are to be submitted by Friday, next week, while the vote is on monday after."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

A/N: Hopefully I'm not too rusty. I apologize for this long break. I just want to ask you guys something, actually for some assistance. If someone would like to help me complete this story, being less of a creator and more of a scribe, he/she can PM me and we could arrange something. The only criteria are that you have written at least 50K words and have 50 member reviews.

Please Review.


	26. B2: Chapter 26 - The Bug Problem

Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does.

A/N : There will be some drama here on (mostly political in nature), actions of a few characters might seem gray or out of character but there will be reasons behind them. And anyway, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Please review.

 **Chapter Twenty-Six : The Bug Problem**

The color from Ron's face had drained and not yet reappeared, it was clear that he was really shocked and worried. "I don't feel so good about it."

They had just spoken to Sirius and were now discussing the situation among themselves. The assurances given by Sirius had sounded hollow to all three of them but they did not voice their opinions. Harry was standing by the window, his eyes focused at distance, he wasn't looking anywhere particular, he was just thinking. "Neither do I, Ron."

Hermione was sitting close to Ron, rubbing his back in an attempt to keep him calm. "We need to do something, think something."

Harry was deep in his thoughts, his brows furrowed in concentration, his hands resting on the window sill, his fingers tapping on the stone rhythmically. He glanced at his two oldest friends, he could see all the worries and emotions playing on their faces. He needed to do something. His mind was racing through a thousand possibilities and scenarios and options. He needed to do something and do it before the nominations are filed.

"Hermione, get the bug, pick some writing material on your way and bring your warding kit along. Ron, get Nev, Hannah and Susan. I need to talk to the twins and meet me outside the corridor leading to Fluffy in fifteen minutes." Harry fired the instructions, he just had a 'Eureka moment'. Ron and Hermione gave him a confused look, not understanding the sudden change. Before they could ask him any questions, he commented. "I will explain when we get there. Hurry now!"

Hermione was the first to leave, Harry stopped Ron as he was about to exit the dorm. "Ron, take this and find the three of them as soon as possible. If Susan is with her aunt, let her be."

Harry passed the map in Ron's waiting hands. Ron did not waste any time as he ran out of the dorm towards the great hall. Harry pocketed the enchanted mirror and went to the seventh-year dorm. He knocked a couple of times but there was no response, he waited a few seconds before he tried to open it but the door was locked. He knocked again, this time more urgently. a few seconds later, Angelina opened the door, her hair completely disheveled. Harry was shocked but he schooled his expressions pretty well. "Morning, Angelina."

"What are you doing here?" Angelina asked groggily, her voice raspy with sleep. She was wearing a nightgown over her school shirt as Harry could see the collar of the shirt peeking from the top of the gown. The gown itself looked slightly larger in size for her, he noticed that it had an F embroidered on the left breast. Harry knew it belonged to Fred, Harry saved the information for the future.

"Same question, what are you doing here?" Harry asked back.

"Good point, let's not talk about it. What's the matter?" Angelina was trying to rub her sleep off her eyes but wasn't very successful, both her hands trying to keep her head steady, the hangover was killing her.

"Need to talk to Fred and George." Harry answered plainly. "It's urgent."

"They are sleeping, Harry." She replied, her annoyance clear on her face. "It's Saturday morning for Merlin's sake."

"Alright, let them sleep." He needed to get through her and speak with the twins. "But I don't think McGonagall would appreciate the sleeping arrangement of her seventh-year Gryffindors, and by the way Angelina, nice gown."

Harry gave her that cheeky grin with a raised eyebrow, he knew that this would get her working to wake the twins up. She just gave him a nod and closed the door, five seconds later, Fred was standing in front of him. "What!"

"The ward scheme you were talking about last night, I need it now." Harry pushed ahead, trying to express his urgency without using the words to do so. "No questions asked."

Fred closed the door and returned a few seconds later with a journal in his hand. "Here, all details and procedure is in there. Some extra stuff is there too, ignore that or not, your wish."

As Harry was about to take the notebook out of his hands, Fred moved it away. "Let's keep this quiet for eternity, shall we?"

Harry understood that he was talking about everything that had happened. He agreed to it. "With pleasure."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Harry was on his way to the third-floor corridor, he did not come across anyone as today was Saturday and the sun was up, students were most probably enjoying the bright day. He turned towards the last passage leading to the said corridor, Hermione was standing a few steps away from the concerned door of the corridor, a leather-made toolbox in her hand.

They both entered the corridor after unlocking the door. They waited for Ron and the rest of the group on the other side of the wooden door. They didn't need to wait long. Harry opened the door and motioned them to enter. Neville and Hannah were present but Susan was missing, that was understandable. Both Hannah and Neville looked confused, worried and afraid, Harry tried to assure them that they don't need to worry. He locked the door and put up a ward to alert him about intruders and then led them through the corridor towards the room at the end.

Once they walked through the corridor and into the room where Fluffy was kept, Harry turned towards them. "Sorry for all this, it was something important and I wouldn't have done this otherwise."

"But before I elaborate on why we are all here, there are a few things that need to be taken care of." He pulled out the journal from his robe and handed it to Hermione. "Bill designed a ward scheme for the twins for this chamber, can you implement it, Hermione?"

"Let me check." She took the journal and flipped through the pages, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I can give it a try, but it will take some time."

"I can help her with that." Hannah stepped closer to Hermione, peeking over her shoulder to look at the journal.

"Sounds good." Harry turned to Neville to talk to him next. "Nev, I want you to write a letter to your Gran ma and ask her for the list of Wizengamot members and what side they are more inclined to, ask her the probable candidates for the membership of the select committee. Request her to reply as soon as possible and that it is important."

"I don't have quill and parchment." Neville countered, his face showing the utter confusion and a significant amount of fear that he would need to talk to his Gran regarding this.

"Hermione has some, get it from her." Harry suggested. "And Nev, she would want to know the reason for your unusual request, tell her that you have started to find the wizard politics quite interesting and want to learn more."

Neville gave him a nod and got himself busy in completing the task he was assigned a few moments ago.

"What am I to do?" Ron asked, his patience very close to the limit.

"Come with me." They both descended through the rope-ladder into the chamber below. It was a good thing that Harry had come down there yesterday to refresh his memory of the place. He went ahead to the first door that led to the chamber where Harry had to catch the flying bird-key. He went and locked the door.

"Dobby!" Harry called and the house elf appeared with a crack.

"Harry Potter called Dobby!" His ears were perked, his eyes wide open with excitement, he was bouncing on the ball of his feet. "Dobby at service!"

"Hello Dobby." Harry wished the small creature. "How are you?"

"Dobby is Happy, Harry Potter sir." The reverence was plain for anyone to see.

"Hello Dobby." Ron also stepped ahead, offering his hand to the elf to shake. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Dobby looked at Harry before shaking the offered hand with both of his, the shake was so gentle and soft as if his hands just brushed Ron's. "Hello, sir Weasley. Dobby been busy working."

"Dobby, we need your help." Harry asked the elf, he noticed that the elf stood straighter, a determined look on his face. "Can you help us, discreetly?"

"Yes sir, absolutely sir!" Dobby nodded, his bat like ears flapping with the nod. Harry was concerned that the elf might fracture his neck.

"Is there some spare furniture around the castle that can be used?" Harry asked. He continued after receiving an affirmative nod from the Dobby. "Can you bring some usable pieces here, maybe a bed, a desk and ten chairs and place them here?"

The elf was gone even before Harry finished his question, a few seconds later the room was filled with enough articles of furniture to decorate a small family home. Another snap of Dobby's fingers and the furniture arranged itself to give the chamber a homely feel. There was a bedroom set on the right-hand side of the room, a queen-sized bed, side-table, a wardrobe and a dresser were on either side of the bed, a dressing screen was present near the wardrobe.

On the opposite side of the chamber was the replica of a study, there was a free hanging fireplace which had a chimney going nowhere. The flames in the fireplace were not the usual ones, they were floating above the base and were blue in color, giving them an ethereal feel. On the right side of the fireplace was a study desk and a plush looking old wingback chair. On the left side of the fireplace was an oval table with ten comfortable chairs around it.

The walls around the chamber had brackets in which lit torches were present. Every piece of furniture was equipped with the proper accessories. Both the sections had curtains present which would separate the section of the chamber from the passage leading through the door on the third wall. This was way beyond what Harry had in mind. "Amazing!"

The elf squealed in delight with the appreciation of his work. "Thank you, Harry Potter sir."

"No Dobby, thank you. This is brilliant." Ron still had to recover from the shock, he had his mouth hanging open, which was promptly closed by Harry as he also admired the newly furnished chamber.

"It's great but you missed a washroom." Ron commented.

"Forgive me, sir, Dobby is sorry." Dobby was pulling his ears with his own hands over his eyes. "Dobby is a stupid elf."

"Oh no no no. You are good, you just need to add a washroom." Ron tried to pacify the elf and clarify his statement.

"Ron, you have no tact." Harry teased.

"Yeah, you are the one to talk about tact." Ron replied with the same intent of teasing.

Before the discussion could go any further, Harry asked Dobby if he can create a washroom. A snap of his fingers later, a small all-in-one washroom cubicle appeared out of thin air on the bedroom side of the chamber, rearranging bedroom set some what.

"Water comes in by the runes sir and waste vanishes on its own." Dobby said, the tone of pride distinctly present in his voice.

"Blimey." Ron checked the bed and found it satisfactorily soft and bouncy. "What's this all about, Harry?"

"Let the other's come down too. Then I will explain." Harry replied. "Dobby, can you reappear a few minutes later if we need you again?"

"Oh yes sir, Dobby can sir." Dobby nodded enthusiastically and was gone with another click of his fingers.

Harry turned towards Ron, somewhat relieved. "Don't tell Hermione about it."

"Yeah and she won't notice." Ron rolled his eyes at Harry's words.

"Good point." Harry conceded. "I'm going to get an earful for making Dobby do all this without paying him."

"You can pay him later or give him something useful." Ron replied, his response was surprisingly thoughtful.

"This thoughtfulness doesn't suit you Ron." Harry teased.

"And planning and scheming doesn't suit you." Ron replied, enjoying the banter. "You charge head on without giving it a second thought."

"Desperately trying to change that here." Harry replied, his arms open wide as if trying to show the surroundings.

Their discussion was interrupted as the remaining three members of their group walked in. Their eyes going as wide as Dobby's with amazement. They made all the right positive noises of admiration. Hermione commented as she came in and stood on the side of Harry. "This is wonderful, Harry."

"Not my doing, Dobby did all this." Harry replied with a shrug. "I didn't even imagine it this wonderful."

"Ooh, there is a washroom too." Hannah chimed in. "And it's quite nice."

"And a charmed fireplace. They are very rare." Neville pointed out.

"You brought us all here to show us this?" Hermione asked. "It's amazing but it could have waited."

"I didn't bring you here to show this." Harry turned to the rest of the group. "Let's sit and then I will explain myself."

Harry sat in the chair at the far end of the oval table, the seat of the head. Hermione and Ron were on his right while Neville and Hannah occupied the seats on his left in that order, respectively.

"The reason I brought all of you here and hoped Susan could have joined us too is the news in the Prophet today. The news itself is not the reason but just the trigger for the action." He was trying to keep his voice level steady and his words focused. "Things are going pear-shaped pretty quickly and we can't let that happen."

"We might have great people on our side but whatever they are trying to do is just isn't working. They are being outplayed and outmaneuvered at each and every step." Harry was starting to feel his temperature rise with his temper. "We need to supplement and compliment their efforts. We need to change our approach, drastically. We can't just sit here and do nothing, even if we can't leave school, we can certainly help."

Everyone sitting around the table was shocked at Harry's words, they were left speechless. Usually, Harry would prefer to stay away from all these activities or stay uninvolved until and unless he was pushed in the middle of it. But the Harry sitting in front of them right now was saying the exact opposite of it. He was a Gryffindor through and through, and right now he was acting like one. Their brains were trying to process all of this, unable to see where he was going with it.

"Harry, is everything alright?" Hermione whispered, her hand sliding to touch Harry's on the table.

"Yeah Harry, you are freaking me out right now." Neville commented, his face had lost most of its color. His eyes looking between Harry and Hermione, alternating every second.

"Everything is not alright." His shoulders finally slumped a bit, the heat waning from his voice. "The situation has been worsening throughout this summer. And we have been unable to handle it."

He took a deep steadying breath and released it with a sigh. "We just can't sit here doing nothing when we can do something."

"Sorry mate but you need to be more specific with whatever you are going on about." Ron trying to steer Harry's monologue towards a the actual topic of discussion, i.e. Harry's idea.

"I will get to that but first we need to tell Neville and Hannah about Padfoot." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, silently asking them for their support in it.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Harry." Hermione was doing what she did the best, to be the voice of reason. "It's Padfoot's decision if he wants to tell someone about his situation. You telling anyone not in-the-know will be a serious breach of his trust."

"You can ask him." Ron commented and received a stinging glare from Hermione for his big-mouthed attitude. "Sorry, but that was the only thing that came to my mind."

"What the hell are you three talking about?" Hannah inquired into this secret matter. "Who is Padfoot?"

"Harry, if its a closely guarded secret and you are entrusted with it, I think you should keep it among the people aware of this." Neville jumped in the conversation, showcasing his Hufflepuff attribute with his words.

These opinions made Harry rethink his plan of action, the seed of doubt was sown in his mind. "Maybe you are right, I don't know. But I can't just sit here doing nothing."

"I'm sure Prof. Dumbledore must be doing everything in his power to rectify the situation." Hermione attempted to pacify the raging thoughts in Harry's head. "Order is still trying their best to set everything straight."

Ron nodded in agreement to what Hermione said and so did Neville. Hannah was not impressed though. "I beg to differ."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked skeptically, her focus shifting from Harry to Hannah. "You can't be seriously thinking that Prof. Dumbledore isn't doing everything in his power."

"Hermione, Dumbledore might be a very powerful wizard but he is not a good politician and after losing all his major authority positions, he is even weaker." Hannah was trying to get her point through to Hermione. "He isn't as influential as I have heard he was previously."

"But even then, he is our best hope." Hermione was trying to plead her case in favor of Dumbledore but wasn't very effective.

"We are our own best hope, Hermione." Harry commented. His face had the look of hopelessness towards Dumbledore. "Whatever he is trying to do isn't working Hermione and I don't think he is trying his best."

"That's quite preposterous of you to say something like this Harry." Hermione was seriously baffled at what Harry was suggesting.

"Yeah mate, Dumbledore is the Leader of the Order. He is the most powerful wizard alive." Ron jumped in the discussion, defending the headmaster. "And you know what people say, Dumbledore is the only wizard You-Know-Who is afraid of."

"I think Harry is right." Neville commented very quietly, his voice barely audible. Hermione and Ron turned to look at him in shock. "Think about it, you two, Dumbledore isn't acting like he is really trying. Gran thinks that age is taking its toll on Dumbledore and he isn't as sharp and wise as he was when Harry vanquished You-Know-Who."

"These are baseless arguments, Neville. You can't just throw unverifiable opinions as facts in an argument." Hermione shouted at Neville, her voice rising a few decibels.

"Come to think of it Hermione." Harry turned her attention away from Neville. "There are a lot of things he could have done many a times which he chose not to do."

"How do you mean?" Hermione was now intrigued at the line of thought Harry was following.

"In our third year, Dementors were continuously trying to suck my soul and they came very close thrice." Harry shuddered at the thought and memory. "Even after my fall during the Quidditch match, Dementors remained around the school, they were not present on the grounds but they were stationed close."

"But that was for your own safety, Harry." Hermione pleaded, trying to show him the mistake of his views.

"And in the end, when we told him about Padfoot, instead of doing something himself, negotiating with the Minister for some kind of understanding, he sent us back in time on a mission we had no idea how to accomplish. The outcome would certainly have been different if he had been the one doing something, being more powerful, knowledgeable and experienced."

"What mission? What are you two talking about?" Hannah's interest increased multi fold and so did her suspicion. "Whatever information you are holding as secret, we both need to know."

"You would need to wait, Abbott. If you haven't already noticed, we are having a crucial discussion here." Ron replied in a voice that cut and bruised anyone's self-respect and ego.

"Nobody asked your opinion Weasley. It would be better for your health if you keep your mouth shut and let elders talk." Hannah responded in a similar tone.

"That's enough, both of you." Harry barked. He didn't want the discussion to derail. "Hannah, I will tell you everything but you would have to wait for a while. Ron, keep the mocking to a minimum, right now."

He turned back towards Hermione to continue their discussion. "I don't know whether he isn't doing much deliberately or he is unable to do what he could or what is needed. Either way, he isn't our best chance."

"Padfoot isn't the only case, Hermione. Last year, he had me participating in a dangerous tournament, even though I hadn't put my name into the Goblet myself and he did nothing to get me out of it or find a way to keep me safe in the tournament." Harry tried to appeal to Hermione's emotional side.

"But he was bound by rules of the tournament and his hands were tied." Ron tried to further the argument but he wasn't very convincing in his attempt.

"Ron, he found a way to keep Snape out of prison despite the fact that he was a proven and branded Death Eater." Harry dropped the bomb on the present company.

"Woow, wait a minute!" Hannah could not hold it in. "Snape is a Death Eater? How is even in the school?"

"Gran said that Dumbledore's testimony in front of Wizengamot saved him from a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban." Neville provided the necessary information.

"Do you see my point?" Harry tried to hit the final nail into the coffin. "If he can find a way for Snape, he could have done something for Padfoot. And he could have surely done something regarding the tournament."

"I understand what you mean Harry but I think you are over-analyzing whatever had happened." Hermione was trying to hold onto her side of argument although just by a feeble thread that was about to snap.

"And what about this summer, Hermione?" Harry knew that his next point would make her doubt her side of argument to the extent that she would start questioning the events of past and Dumbledore's involvement in it. "He got outfoxed and beaten badly at his own game by Fudge and Malfoy. That is enough for me to start doubting his political credentials."

"But mate, you can't just judge his credentials for being caught on the wrong foot." Ron's reasoning wasn't compelling enough, even for himself. "Since then, he is working to re-establish the balance."

"And despite everything he has done, your father is under investigation." Harry knew that the argument was over with that. "He is unable to keep the people in his inner circle safe anymore. That doesn't fill me with confidence for the rest of the wizarding populus of the country."

Harry leaned back in his chair, seeing the thoughtful faces of the four friends of his. Since the day Cedric died, Harry had been pondering about everything that has been happening in his life and the people involved in it. He did not have any false hopes from any of the adults in his life nor did he expect any positive support from the people he knew. He was going through a conflict of conscience but he had since then realized that he needed to do something on his own to change things around him. It had taken a lot of his time to come to this conclusion, the news this morning just accelerated the process.

Mr. Weasley was one of the most kind-hearted and generous person he knew, despite his obvious financial constraints. It pained Harry to realize that he set off the chain of events that led to this investigation. He wasn't blaming himself for it completely but he had accepted that he contributed a lot into it.

"What do you want to do then?" Neville asked, his face was blank, no expressions at all, except the anticipation of the response from Harry.

Harry squared his shoulders and took a deep breath to calm and focus his mind on his plan. "I plan to use a secret weapon, it's more effective than whatever Dumbledore might be planning on doing."

He extended his right arm towards Hermione, his open palm facing the ceiling. "The bug, Hermione."

"Harry, I don't think it's a great idea. It isn't safe here." Hermione was trying to change Harry's mind. she leaned in to whisper. "We are not at the headquarters, Harry."

"The bug, Hermione." he gestured her to pass him the vial in which the bug was kept. Hermione relented, she pulled out the vial from an inner pocket from her robe and handed it to Harry.

Harry rose from his chair and went to the center of the chamber before calling out. "Dobby!"

The elf appeared with a cracking sound. "Harry Potter called Dobby?"

"Yes Dobby, can you do something for me?" Harry asked in a gentle requesting manner.

"Dobby do anything for Harry Potter!" He was about to start jumping from one foot to the other.

"Can you conjure an article of jewelery like a ring or a bracelet and charm it so that whoever wears it, can't do animagus transformation and can't use magic and can't remove it on their own." Harry requested but it sounded more like a command. Dobby complied and a plain silver wristband appeared with just a click of his fingers.

Harry wasn't finished yet, he needed a few more things to be taken care of. "Can you put wards around this chamber so that whoever is wearing this can't leave it?"

Dobby clicked his fingers again and the walls of the chamber glowed a pale blue for a moment, the wards were now in place.

"Thanks Dobby, just one final request." Harry said with an appreciative nod to the house elf. "Please take care of our guest here and make sure they don't misbehave."

"Dobby will do, Harry Potter!" He gave a bow and disappeared with a crack.

Harry turned to look at the group, Neville and Hannah were sporting an utterly confused look, Hermione had worry pasted all over her face and Ron just looked, well, curious. Harry held the vial from the end of it and looked at the bug inside. "I hope you will behave when I let you out of this confinement. I just hope that I wouldn't need to use a bug removal spell."

The bug inside the vial did not move even a millimeter, Harry was confident that he wouldn't need to take any harsh measures but just as a precaution, he asked everyone to draw their wand and stun the bug if it went anywhere else. He place the vial at the floor and removed the cork that kept it sealed. He flipped the vial so the bug fell out of it. It didn't make any move for a couple of seconds so Harry asked it to transform back into the human form, it didn't.

Harry was about to kneel down when suddenly the bug took a flight. Everyone one of them started to fire stunners at the bug, everyone except Harry. He had trained his wand tip at the bug, waiting for it to get into a perfect angle before he cast a spell none of them has heard, except Hermione.

' _Homorphus!_ '

It was a brilliant piece of skill to perfectly aim a charm at a flying beetle. It would have earned him widespread admiration if the situation was different. Hermione was the only one who looked surprised, not at the transformation but at the charm. Ron was surprised that Harry could do that. Neville and Hannah were shocked to watch the beetle transform in mid-air into a woman and fall to the floor with a thump, the shock intensified when they realized that the woman was none other than Rita Skeeter.

"Nice to see you, Ms. Skeeter." Harry offered her a hand to help her up which she accepted. She did not expect Harry to put the wristband on her left wrist, severely curtailing the possibility of her transforming back into her animagus form.

Hermione turned her focus on Harry, a serious question on her tip of tongue and a look of pride in her eyes. "That spell, it was for werewolves."

"Moony told me that it was for animagi, someone modified its use for werewolves." Harry answered, giving her a smile, noticing the pride she felt. "Easy, that one."

It took a full twenty seconds before Hannah found her voice and ten more seconds for Neville to find his. "You kidnapped her?"

Hannah was looking between Harry and Hermione, her eyes wide as saucers. Hermione took a step closer to her in an attempt to explain the situation but Hannah was having none of it. But before she could run away, Neville gripped her wrist to halt her escape. "Wait, Hannah. They must be having a solid explanation for this criminal act. I hope so."

Before Hermione could start her explanation, Harry interrupted. "There are too many things that needs to be explained but they would have to wait, Nev. Just trust me on this for a bit longer."

Neville looked into Harry's eyes, he immediately noticed the sincerity. He gave Harry a nod of understanding, he would remain patient for time being, he decide.

"Thanks, Nev." Harry turned back to the Ex-reporter, his voice had an acidly sweet edge to it. "As for you, Ms. Skeeter, please make yourself comfortable. This is going be your home for the foreseeable future."

Her shoulders slumped but her eyes were burning with rage. "You all are going to pay for this. I'm going to ruin all your lives for what you are doing to me. You will suffer utter humiliation, just wait for it."

Harry made a sniffing noise, exaggerated, stepping closer to Skeeter. "Do you smell this stink, Ms. Skeeter? Maybe your beetle form can smell it better. It is the stink of your despicable actions and the bile in your words."

He could she the ambers in her eyes, she was seething at his comments but Harry wasn't done yet. He was going to poke her again. "Maybe you should take a shower, Ms. Skeeter. You really stink very bad."

She just turned on her heel and walked to the other side of the chamber towards the bedroom section. Harry made the last comment before turning towards his friends. "And while you are there, please close the curtains."

"Explanations are in order now, Potter." Hannah's patience was waning with every passing second.

"Let's have a seat first." Harry motioned them to take the seats around the table. Once they were properly seated, Harry asked Hermione to explain the peculiar situation with Rita. After the five minutes long explanation in which nothing was mentioned nor indicated about Sirius, Neville and Hannah looked at the trio as if they all had grown up another head or a pair of ears.

"Pardon my language but what the effing nuts!" Hannah could not hold herself back any longer. "You are telling me that you had spent a whole summer with that freak-show?"

"You are way deep down the rabbit hole already." Neville commented. "Kidnapping is the least of your concern now if she gets out of this. And not 'if', it's a matter of 'when'."

"We are well aware of that and we need to find a solution of a permanent nature but that's a discussion for some other time." Harry replied to address Neville's concerns. He was already thinking about solutions for it but he needed a more mature and experienced opinion regarding that.

"So why do you need Skeeter here?" Ron popped the question that was on everyone's mind.

"For persuasion." Harry answered flatly. A small, yet mischievous smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Do you remember Ron, the discussion we had when I arrived at the HQ about the happening in the Wizengamot?"

Ron just gave an unsure nod in response. Harry then picked up his line of thought to elaborate further. "Malfoy was able to built up an organized block of supporters in Wizengamot using every available option of persuasion, from manipulation to bribing, from deceit to intimidation and from loyalty to blackmail."

"We don't have money to bribe people, we can't use intimidation or deceit from here and there are very few people loyal to Dumbledore or to our cause. That leaves us with very few options." Harry paused for a second for his words to sink in. He could clearly see the moment when the meaning was understood by each and everyone.

"You are going to blackmail people?" Neville was scandalized with what Harry was suggesting. He wanted to change a few things and help but he didn't want to go against his morals. "Harry, let me remind you that blackmailing is criminal offense and ethically and morally incorrect."

"No, I'm not suggesting blackmailing them, I'm just proposing that we should give them a nudge in the proper direction." Harry tried to clarify his stand.

"You sound like a politician, Harry." Hannah commented, she wasn't sure how to react over it. She did not want to do something illegal but the method appealed to her very deeply.

"Neville, I think what Harry is suggesting is right." Ron provided his verbal support to Harry. He was thinking about assuring his family's safety without doing much. "We can't fight against the likes of Malfoy if we don't want to get our hands a little dirty."

"I'm not sure that's the right thing to do. If we do something like this, there is no difference between us and the likes of Malfoy." Hermione gave a very logical response but even before Harry could response, Ron Jumped on the opportunity. "Hermione, frankly speaking, I don't give a rat's ass about legality of our methods. I would be more concerned about how to keep our people safe."

"But you can't go on justifying your means for a noble end. That isn't ethical and I am certain its not legal." Hermione defended her point of view.

"And what they did to Padfoot was ethical or legal?" Ron turned the tables on her.

"One of you, please tell me who Padfoot is." Hannah so badly needed to know who this guy with the weird nickname was. Harry and Hermione shared a quick look which didn't go unnoticed by Hannah. "What was that?"

Harry finally decided to tell Neville and Hannah about Sirius and the truth of his crime. They were left completely thrown off their sits, metaphorically, by the revelation. Neville took it better than Hannah, by a long margin. "Merlin's effing pants!"

That revelation and the truth behind the whole disaster turned the opinions of Hannah and Neville in the favor of Harry's plan. It left Hermione to defend her side of the argument alone, which was proving to be extremely difficult. But finally she relented when Harry made a very emotional argument. "Hermione, before my fifteenth birthday, I was attacked by Dementors in my neighborhood and I was almost kissed. And that's not even the saddest part. the saddest part is that it wasn't the first time it happened."

He took a deep breath and held both her hands in his, looking deep in her eyes. "Hermione, can you trust me that I won't do anything wrong or put someone innocent in harm's way? Hermione you know me well enough to realize that I won't do such a thing."

She just gave a nod, her emotions were now in control and steering her opinion to align with Harry's. "I promise you that if we ever put some innocent life in danger because of my actions, I will surrender myself."

The moment was interrupted as Rita entered the meeting area and took the seat opposite to Harry on the other end of the table. "Ah! Teenage romance, how lovely. Sorry but not sorry to interrupt your moment."

Harry gave a very disdainful look to the women sitting on the other end of the table, wearing a purple robe that looked like tailored for her only. She noticed Harry giving her a once over. "Oh, I am thankful for this robes. You aren't that bad a host. Although you forgot to ask me if I was hungry."

She had a smirk on her face, Harry didn't understand why she would be having that particular expression pasted on her face. Regardless, Harry wouldn't starve her, so he called Dobby. Dobby didn't appear but a plate filled with the traditional English breakfast appeared in front of Rita Skeeter. She dug in her breakfast, it was half-finished before she spoke again. "Your hospitality, it's quite impressive for a prison."

"You are not our prisoner, Ms. Skeeter. This is an arrangement of compulsions and conveniences." Harry replied truthfully, he had no intention to keep her any longer than they absolutely needed to.

He let her finish her breakfast before speaking up again, the breakfast didn't take more than three minutes anyways. "We have an offer for you."

"I'm listening." Rita pushed the plate away and rested both her elbows on the table, leaning forward, her eyes fixing Harry with an intrigued look. "It's not like I have an option."

"The only beneficial arrangement is that of mutual cooperation, Ms. Skeeter. You have what we need and we can certainly provide some essentials to you. And if things go well, you will be able to leave without anymore trouble very soon." Harry began the negotiations, he could feel the eyes of everyone in the room was alternating its focus between Harry and Rita. No other sound was audible in the room except the crackling coming from the torches in the brackets on the wall. The blue flames of the fireplace cast an eerie glow on Rita's face, giving her the look of a ghost, her blond hair certainly helping in the said look.

"You overestimate your position, Potter. Actually, you are in no position to make any demands, you have committed a very serious crime here." Her eyes boring into Harry. She looked at the rest of them, she wanted to make them squirm, to make them understand how bad the situation was for them.

"You aren't helping your own cause with this foolish talk, Beetle." Ron barked at her, he wasn't a fan of her and right now, he was angry. "Keep talking like this and I might feed you to Hermione's owl."

"Let it be, Ron."Harry was thinking about the next step, his first offer to be placed on the negotiation table. "You help us here and swear not to disclose the happenings in this interlude. And we will release you and I promise to give you an exclusive interview, twenty questions, all truth."

Her eyes twinkled at the offer but it was still way below the level of trouble she had to go through. She needed to make them very afraid, and they needed to succumb to her demands. She wasn't going to let them bargain in their favor. "You want to pay me with an exclusive interview for not ratting you to the Ministry which, I am sure, will sentence you for, at the very least, twenty years in Azkaban."

"You are forgetting something very crucial here, Skeeter." Harry was staring deep into her eyes. He knew that he needed to raise the bar of his offer but he wouldn't let it go that easily. "You are dealing with the godson on an escapee mass-murderer, I hope you understand the seriousness of that.

Harry bluffed, it was a veiled threat but a threat nonetheless. And he was sure that she would take the bluff. He could feel the gears in her brain working, her eyes were showed that pretty clearly. "An exclusive interview isn't worth all the trouble I had gone through. I want five-hundred- thousand galleons."

"What? Are you out of your mind?" Ron shouted, standing up from his chair, the chair toppling from the force. The similar shocked reaction came from Hannah and Hermione too. Harry and Neville were quiet, too quiet. Hermione noticed it and so did Skeeter.

"Oh, shut up and sit down." Rita gave them a bored look, she was enjoying this too much. She knew that she would get the deal of her life from this negotiation. "Blacks certainly have deep vaults and coin purses, and Potters were affluent enough. I'm sure they can afford that much. Longbottom boy knows it too."

Neville could feel the mocking undertones, but he knew a snippet of information that would be a sweet slap on her face. "Rita, just keep in mind that if it became known that you have been eavesdropping on Wizengamot members and other prominent members of our society, in your animagus form, you would be thrown into Azkaban for life to keep you shut. And Harry would be able to get out of Azkaban with far less than what you are demanding."

Rita's mind took a step back and her calculation began once again, she was losing ground slowly but she needed to conclude it as soon as possible to get the best deal she could. "Five exclusive interviews, twenty questions each. And I can schedule the interview whenever I want. In addition to this, two-hundred-thousand galleons."

"One interview with twenty questions, the whole story of my godfathers' life and escape, all secrets. And no gold. Sirius Black's life story is worth more than you might comprehend." Harry fired back, he knew his grip on the negotiation was tight enough and no gold will be going her way.

Her ears perked at that offer but there was no gold involved, which put her off very much. She needed to strike their vault, she can't let this golden opportunity slide through her fingers. "Five interviews with you, one with Sirius Black, and exclusive publication and revenue rights on the book on his life."

That demand stumped Harry and Rita realized it, a broad smile tugging at the edge of her lips. Harry needed to keep the power over how the information is going to released and when. He had to make sure that he controlled the stream of information and monitored the spread. He was deep in his thoughts when an idea popped into his head. "Two exclusives with me, one with with Sirius. You can write the book about him but I will edit the book and I will decide when to publish the book."

"Don't take me for a fool, Potter. I have entertained this far too long in good humor but now let's talk straight." she dragged her chair even closer, no smile on her face, her eyes filled with anger and determination. "You will release me latest by easter, I will have three exclusive interviews with you and one with Black. I will get the publication and revenue right on the book. No royalty to you or Black on both, interview and book. This is my final offer."

Harry was now in a tight position, the demands were certainly more in his favor but he had conceded some significant ground. But before he could give her an answer, Neville interjected. "Swear on your magic."

"What?" Rita could not believe that Neville could see through her ploy. She thought that these kids wouldn't be able to understand what she had omitted or what her plan was.

"Take an oath, swear on your magic and sign a binding Wizard's contract with blood." Neville continued with the demand. He had grown up in a pureblood environment, he was well aware of these kind of negotiation, he had never been present for one but his Gran had tutored him very well in these matters. He knew a few tricks which his Gran had taught him last year, after his fourteenth birthday when he was introduced to his estate as an heir to the house. "You agree to do that and we will consider your demands."

Even Harry was surprised at this turn of events. Who would have thought in their right minds that Neville would trump one of the shrewdest person. He looked at Neville with a new found respect for his fellow Gryffindor. And he also noticed the look of admiration Neville was receiving from Hannah. Although, Neville was unaware of this, completely. Harry turned back to join the negotiation. "Do you agree to that, Skeeter? If you don't, I would be more than Happy to send you back to my Godfather in that glass vial."

Rita slumped in her chair, the look of devastation on her face. She knew in that moment that her game was over. She just gave them a slow nod of surrender, she averted her eyes. She could not believe that she just lost the once in a lifetime opportunity because of her overconfidence.

"We will get the contract made soon, Skeeter." Neville concluded the negotiation for Harry. Harry then asked her to leave the table and give them some privacy, she complied with the demand without any fuss. "Hermione, please hand me some parchment, I have a couple of letters to write."

"Couple of letters?" Hermione asked, not knowing to whom the seconds letter was addressed to.

"Yeah, one to Gran and the other to Gringotts, we need that contract to be made." Neville answered, taking the parchment and quill that Hermione passed to him. He was about to start the letter when he could feel everyone's gaze on him. He looked up and found everyone looking at him with a questioning look on his face. "What?"

"You are directly writing to Gringotts?" Hannah asked curiously.

"You should be knowing this Hannah, you get the heirship at fourteen. Although, for girls the age is sixteen. And I am sure Harry must have got his heirship last year as well." Neville explained the custom, he got a nod of realization from Hannah. "Even then I would need my Gran's permission before agreeing to any contract. But this one, it will be between Mr. Black and Rita so I just have to pay for the contract to be made."

Harry was caught off-guard, he had no idea about this heirship business. And Neville made it sound like very routine. Only Hermione looked curious regarding that part of his words. Harry had to ask Neville for a clarification. "Sorry, what?"

Neville had to pause again, he hadn't written two lines of his first letter yet. "What?"

"Err… what do you mean by my heirship?" Harry asked, confusion clear on his face. Even Hermione was intently listening into it.

"You know the tradition, right? Heirs to old pureblood family lines get their heirship on their fourteenth birthday." Neville answered as if it was self-evident. "No?"

"Sorry Neville but we both have muggle upbringing, so this is a new for both of us." Hermione replied, her hand sliding into Harry's hand, resting on the table.

"Oh, ok. Maybe when you come of age, you might be introduced to it then. It might be because of your situation." Neville shrugged, he had never heard of a case like Harry.

"My situation?" Harry quizzed him further, he needed to know, it sounded important and it could be helpful in future.

"Oh, you know, since your parents aren't there anymore so you live with your muggle guardians. That might have something to do with it." Neville answered, but after seeing the look on Harry's face he gave a disclaimer before Harry could respond. "I'm merely speculating, the actual reason might be completely different or bizarre even."

Harry just gave a nod, he bookmarked this question in his head to ask Sirius about it later. Neville got back to writing the pair of letters. Hermione was busy with whatever was going through her brilliant brain. Ron, on the other hand, looked like he was itching to ask a question. "Hey, Nev! How much is your allowance now?"

For his stupid question, Hermione paid him a punch on his shoulder. "Oww! Harry, you need to keep your girl in control."

He received another blow on his shoulder, this one harder than the last one. "You should really get a grip on your tongue, Ronald."

Hannah was laughing at Ron's expense, Ron's ears turned a deep shade of red. Hannah teased on his reaction to Hermione's physical blow. "Aww, poor Ronnikins, beaten black and blue by a girl!"

"Ha ha, very funny." Ron replied before doing the most mature thing, sticking his tongue out at her. His stomach made a weird noise, turning every eye towards him. "What? I didn't have a proper breakfast, I'm hungry."

"You are always Hungry, Weasley. You can eat the whole Whomping Willow in lunch and still be as hungry as ever for dinner." Hannah teased again.

"You know Abbott, you are testing my patience to not eat you whole, right now." Ron replied with a pissed look.

"Oh, I'm scared! Someone please save me from this food monster." She mocked him with the voice of distressed woman, imitating the look too. That was getting to Ron now.

"I'm leaving if we are done here." Ron stood up from his seat, turning to leave.

"Hold your Hippogriffs, Ron. We all are done here once Neville finishes the letter." Harry held his hands up, gesturing Ron to wait for some time. "We all are hungry."

"I'm almost done." Neville chimed in, not looking up from the letters. The first letter was completed and pushed towards Harry who picked it up and gave it a once over before passing it on to Hermione. It was addressed to someone at Gringotts, Harry was impressed with Neville's skill with writing in a formal manner. The letter seemed so 'official', the language, word selection, the tone, everything was on point. And by the look of it, Hermione was as impressed, if not more. It took him another thirty seconds to finish the letters.

He folded the one in his hand before asking Hermione for the other one. "Can I borrow your Hedwig, Harry?"

"Sure." Harry just shrugged, it wasn't something monumental for Neville to ask. "Gran liked Hedwig when she last time delivered your letter. Gran thinks that Hedwig has grace."

"She should meet Errol." Hermione commented cheekily.

"Oh she had. He broke one of her favorite vase in her her study. She was pretty mad." Neville told them about the incident. "Since then, I am made to sends Stuart, our owl and ask it to wait for a reply."

That got a laugh out of everyone sitting around the table, even Ron. He had to concede that much. "Errol is really clumsy, old age and all."

"Let's get going, don't want the ginger to starve." Neville said standing up from his seat and pulling Hannah's for her. She gave him an appreciative smile for his gentlemanly behavior.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

He was walking down the cobbled street of Diagon Alley, he had just dropped his girlfriend at Ollivanders' for her apprenticeship in wand-making. It was a busy day, the street was brimming with shoppers, every now and then someone would bump into him or graze his side. He reached up to Gringotts. The location was a five-way intersection, but it was named 'Merlin Square'. The Central Diagon Alley road split into two on the opposite side of the square and followed the two sides of Gringotts building in form of League Alley and Abnorm Alley. The two roads perpendicular to Central Diagon Alley were East Horizont Alley and West Horizont Alley.

He turned towards League Alley. The scenario here was totally different from Central Diagon Alley. Majority of crowd here were either Ministry employees spending their meal time or people involved with some proceedings of the Ministry or Gringotts. The street was lined with either offices of solicitors and barristers or restaurants frequented by the usual crowd. Today being a Sunday, the street was almost empty, with a handful of people scattered throughout the alley who were unfortunate enough to be working on a Sunday.

The end of the street led to the underground tunnel to the Ministry which was named Cryptick Alley. The tunnel was less than four-hundred meter long and it had other entrance, or exits, to other places too, like the Auror Academy or Embassies of other wizarding nations. The Ministry building was directly below the Whitehall of London where the Muggle Government was housed.

People preferred floo or apparation, some people even used the most disgusting method of transportation imaginable, 'flushing yourself down the toilet drain' to get to the Ministry. But he was different in that regard, he preferred to walk the short distance of one kilometer from his new apartment in East Horizont Alley. That part of the wizarding district was the residential area, along with West Horizont Alley, where most of the younger, aspiring and working population of wizarding Britain lived.

He had moved there less than six months ago with his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater. He was happy, really happy. His job was going great, although there was a small hiccup in the form of an inquiry into Mr. Crouch's disappearance but he didn't face much problem because of it. He was demoted from Undersecretary to the post of Senior Assistant, but he was given additional responsibility as Scribe to the Wizengamot. He was recently transferred from DIMC to the Office of Senior Undersecretary. He had worked in two of the three central departments of the Ministries even before he turned twenty.

He was halfway down the League Alley when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at the person to who that hand belonged, he was unpleasantly surprised to find that it was his brother Bill.

"Good morning, Percy." Bill offered his hand for him to shake which he ignored completely.

"What do you want?" Percy did not want to waste his time talking to Bill in the middle of the street.

"I need to talk to you." Bill emphasized his words with his expressions.

Percy was not impressed. "I don't have time for your family nonsense. I left to get away from this."

He was about to turn to leave when Bill gripped his shoulder, his grip tight and strong to prevent him from leaving. "We need to talk, Percy. Let's have a seat."

Percy was furious because of this hegemonic behavior but he did not want to create a scene so he relented. "Be quick."

They walked to a table-for-two, hidden from view by potted plants and a board. Bill quickly cast a nonverbal privacy charm before speaking. "Percy, we need your help."

Percy just scoffed at that. "And what do you need my help for? I believe you told me that father was capable enough to help all of you."

"Have some decency, Percy. Show some respect to dad." Bill's ear were turning red with anger but they were hidden by his long shoulder-length hair. "Besides, I'm not here to beg to you for anything."

"So, what do you want then?" Percy was not even a bit interested in this conversation, all he wanted to do was to be on his way to Ministry, as soon as possible.

"You need to know that You-Know-Who is back." Bill was looking straight into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. But there was just a smile.

"You are still stuck with that? Ministry has already said that this is all a ploy of Dumbledore to destabilize the Ministry and usurp his power." Percy replied straightaway.

"Can't you hear what you are saying?" Bill was not very much surprised at that reaction, he knew how Percy would lean. "We have seen the proof of it."

"You are all fools really, deluded fools." Percy smirked at that. "Open your eyes brother, I thought you were intelligent."

"Times are changing, Percy." Bill was trying his best to get through to his little brother but there was no way to that. "You should stick with your family."

"How many times do I need to tell this, I don't have a family anymore." Percy left his eldest brother sitting there, shocked, and left.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please Review.


	27. B2: Chapter 27 - The Disagreements

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does.

A/N: I wanted to bring this chapter to you on September 1, but my laptop crashed on August 30. Bad Luck! It came back yesterday after the repair. The life has been hectic and hence the late chapter, it has been written over multiple sittings and must be full of errors. This chapter was especially heavy to write. Hopefully you would like it.

Awaiting to hear your thoughts. Please Review.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Disagreements

Harry was lying in his bed, exhausted mentally but sleep still alluded him. He was trying to sleep for hours, he checked his watch, he was trying to sleep for three hours and yet he couldn't sleep even for a minute. He was convinced that his actions were right, in the face of the present problem. But Hermione wasn't of the same opinion. He could live with that, he knew Hermione would support him, no matter what, even if she disagreed with his methods. But since their return from the third-floor corridor, Hermione was acting a bit odd, she wasn't talking to Harry, she hadn't said a single word since that afternoon directly to Harry. She had left for her dormitory soon after their return from the dinner, that too without a goodnight kiss, that was concerning. Even Ron noticed that.

To divert his mind, he had left the common room with the enchanted mirror in his pocket. He had found an empty classroom and called for Sirius. He was about to tell him regarding the happenings of the late morning. Harry hadn't expected the reaction that he received. Sirius was livid with Harry's actions, he had given Harry a verbal beating for doing something so careless and unthoughtful, that was something coming from a Marauder.

It took Harry more than half an hour but by the end of their conversation, Harry was somehow able to convince Sirius that it was the most elaborate prank to be ever played on the Ministry. Sirius had reluctantly agreed to go along, not because he was enjoying it but because he believed that he could keep an eye on what Harry was doing and guide him as and when necessary to keep him from making any more blunders. He had agreed to bear all the expenses and to take care of any logistical or technical needs. Moreover, he was considering it as a test of Harry's maturity and his acumen. It would be a great way to judge and train Harry in the politics of their society.

The memories of the day were playing on repeat in Harry's mind, his mind slowly drifting towards some ideas to rectify and clarify the misunderstandings and strains between Hermione and himself. Within a few minutes, he was drifting towards an uneasy sleep.

…

He was moving down a narrow corridor, the floor and the walls were covered with black marble tiles. They weren't very clean, a layer of dust and dirt present, making his reflection blurred. The corridor was filled with a repulsive smell associated with an unclean, damp and dark place. He could taste the air, it had a taste that he couldn't place or identify. The corridor wasn't very dark, there were no torches visible and yet it was dimly lit. He could see a black wooden door at the end of the corridor, the door had no knob or any distinguishable design. It was a plain black wooden piece, towering over him. There was no gap at the bottom of the door to slide in, not even the hinges were visible. It was just a piece of wood at the end of a long corridor. It was a dead end.

A moment later, he was floating in a dark, yet a ghostly illuminated place that resembled a library but instead of books, the stacks held something with pale blue luminescence.

…

He woke up with a start, soaking in his own sweat, his scar had a niggling pain, his breathing was heavy. His hand moved to the side table in search of his spectacles, his fingers touched something metallic and the next thing was a sound of a glass breaking. Harry dropped all his attempts to get up and clear his head, he just fell back on the bed, trying to control his breathing.

He has had many nightmares but this was different, it felt real, so real. If someone could see his face now, they would know that all the color had drained from his face and his eyes were dark with fear. It took more than five minutes for his breathing to return to normal. He didn't dare close his eyes again.

He had experience with nightmares, significantly more than he would have liked, and those nightmares were frightening. But this one, it was weird on another level, it left Harry so spooked that he wouldn't even close his eyes to try going back to sleep.

He needed to clear his head, the best way was to talk to Hermione but it was middle of the night. He checked the watch, it was half-past-three. He couldn't talk to Sirius either or any of his other friends. He needed to sort it out on his own.

He pulled out the map and the cloak from his trunk, as silently as possible. He slid on his shoes, tied the dagger on his waist and put on a jumper. He walked out of the dormitory and the common room without making any noise under his invisibility cloak. He had silenced his feet so not to make any noise while walking, he moved towards the astronomy tower, he knew it would be deserted at this time of the night. A few minutes later, he was reaching the top of the tower when he saw that the door was ajar.

It was a red flag, he was becoming suspicious that someone was there already. He was about to turn back and return to his common room when he noticed his potion master walking towards him, his pale face illuminated by the moonlight, he was wearing a black traveling cloak over his bat-like robes. A fear gripped his heart, but instead of panicking, Harry did the only sensible thing and went towards the top of the tower. He was lucky enough that he didn't stumble onto anything and was absolutely quiet.

He stood on the side of the door and away from the path of his incoming professor. As Snape was entering the terrace of the Astronomy Tower, he saw Dumbledore standing close to the edge of it, his arms folded behind his back, his long silver hair hanging loose. But before he could listen to the conversation, Snape flicked his wand and the door swung towards Harry and closed in his face.

Harry was puzzled, many questions flooding his mind. Why was Dumbledore meeting Snape on the Astronomy tower and not in his office? What was so important that they were meeting at this hour? Where was Snape coming from or going to?

His long walk from Gryffindor Tower to the Astronomy Tower was counterproductive. Instead of clearing his mind, it had led to a multi-fold increase in the thoughts and questions that he was having. He strolled back to the Gryffindor tower, the cool breeze of the Scottish nights soothed his nerves a bit and brought sleep back to his eyes. It didn't take him much time to fall back asleep once his head hit his pillow.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

The breakfast was more or less cold, not the food but the company. Hermione wasn't in a great mood, she didn't talk to him directly again, she just acknowledged his presence, barely. He was tired because of the fragmented sleep that he had last night and the cold shoulder from Hermione had effectively killed his appetite. Not only that, his and Hermione's undeclared quarrel had made sure that there was no free-flowing conversation at the breakfast table, an awkward kind of silence existed.

He had left early for his scheduled visit to the herd of Thestrals with Luna. He was standing near the hut that belonged to Hagrid. The door was locked, there was no smoke coming out of the chimney, the windows were closed and there was no sign of Fang. He just stood there, staring at the door, reminiscing about his visits to Hagrid's hut. It had been a starting point to a lot of his adventures or misadventures rather.

From Norbert to Aragog, from Buckbeak's execution to the Dragon's enclosure, from the death of unicorns to the death of Barty Crouch, a lot has happened near this place or rather at this place. He was missing his first friend in this mystical mysterious world.

His trip down the memory lane was interrupted by a soft hand resting on his shoulder, the hand was light and the touch was gentle. Before he could turn to look at the person the hand belonged to, the person came up and stood by his side. "He is a gentle soul, as misunderstood as the creatures he cares about."

Harry looked at her, there was no outward emotion on her face, only a serene smile. He understood that the statement was genuine. "Well, some of them are very frightening and dangerous."

She turned to walk towards the Forbidden Forest without a reply, a smile playing on her lips. She had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder, it looked heavy. She spoke as they were about to enter the forest. "Danger is a real thing, Harry Potter. But fear is a choice. Any creature, even decent humans would only attack if they are disturbed or threatened."

Harry nodded in agreement, it was a deep thought and Harry wasn't expecting such a reply. He looked down, to watch his steps only to notice that She wasn't wearing any shoes. He voiced his thought as a question.

"Oh, it's usual." Luna replied, still maintaining her path into the forest, Harry following a step behind. The trees weren't so dense here that the canopy could block the sunlight completely.

Harry had to ask for a clearer answer. "What do you mean, Luna?"

She didn't pause and kept walking ahead. "It's like a treasure hunt, Harry Potter. Often my stuff is lost or others hide them. Usually, I get a clue about where they are hidden or kept, but sometimes I don't."

Harry didn't know how to react. Someone was playing a rather cruel prank on her and she was taking it as a treasure hunt. "How long has this been going on, Luna?"

"Since the second week." Luna answered flatly. The trees were growing denser and the sunlight was also becoming scarce and blocked by the thickening canopy.

"But we came to school a week ago." Harry wasn't sure that he heard her correctly.

Luna stopped and turned to look at him, she had a playful smile on her face and her eyes looked full with amusement. "You are slow, Harry Potter. No doubt you continuously need Hermione Granger. Since the second week of my first year at Hogwarts."

Harry was surprised that she has been facing this problem for the last three years of her schooling at Hogwarts. "You never complained to prof. Flitwick?"

"Why should I complain when there is nothing to complain about." She turned back and started walking deeper into the forest. "Ravenclaws have a different, more weird, kind of sense of humor. Besides, I usually get my stuff back in a week, otherwise, I ask the helpful elves for assistance."

This conversation was making him even more confused about the character of this girl walking a couple of feet in front of him. The only thing he had understood about her till now was that she was quite different. "You are ok, with this bullying?"

"It would only be bullying if I cry over it. Till that time, its just harmless fun." Luna answered in her characteristically calm tone. "We are here."

She removed some big leaves and hedges from her path and Harry noticed that they were standing on the edge of a circular opening. There was a shallow pond in the center of the opening, a narrow stream flowing into it. There were about twenty Thestrals in that opening, mostly adults, except three younglings. It looked peaceful, these creatures were just strolling, grazing or resting on the forest floor. Mother Thestrals were nursing their young ones or playing with them.

"Don't make any sudden moves and don't do anything to startle them." Luna whispered to him and took careful, measured steps towards the misunderstood creatures. As she went closer, Harry saw that a few Thestrals came closer to the young Ravenclaw. He saw her interact with them, she touched them, scratched them, patted them and even fed them some meat from her bag. Harry decided that he should go closer but as he neared them, the creatures withdrew.

"Sorry Luna, I didn't want to scare them away." Harry apologized to his guide.

"Now can you see, Harry Potter, they are more afraid of you than you are of them." Luna waved to a younger Thestral, it didn't even reach her shoulder height. He walked towards them with shaky feet, he looked excited. "They can look in your eyes and see your soul, Harry Potter. They can sense your emotions and feelings, as simple as fear and as complex as sorrow."

Harry gently lifted his hands, hesitant at first to touch the creature. The young Thestral looked uncertain and jumped a pace back, he was eyeing Harry suspiciously.

"Don't pull your hand back, Harry Potter and look him in the eye." Luna instructed. Harry did as he was told. A couple of seconds later, the small creature moved his head to touch Harry's outstretched hand. The leathery skin felt odd on his touch to Harry, it was cold but not like snow, it was soft and smooth. "Sometimes you need to give others time to make their mind, to make a decision on their own. If you force them into a decision, it seldom goes right. Patience is paramount in uncertain situations and sometimes inaction is the most appropriate action."

Harry was amazed at how deep her thoughts and words were. He could never imagine someone as wise as her of her young age. Hermione was intelligent, smart but Luna was wise in her own way. "I will keep that in mind."

They stood there for a few more minutes watching the herd. They decided to go back to the castle before his absence was noticed. On their way back, Harry asked her something that was bugging him about these creatures since they last spoke. "I can understand that their physical appearance and condition for the ability to see them are causes for their bad reputation, but surely that can't be all. Is it? I mean Dragons and Manticores are far more dangerous."

Luna waited to pick her words very carefully. "In the wizarding lores and mythology, it is considered that Death flies with the wings of thestral."

That left Harry more confused than before. "What?"

"Harry Potter, thestrals can fly but their wings don't make any noise. They are invisible and they have a macabre appearance so people started to believe that death rides thestrals. And there is something even more intriguing about them."

"And what's that?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"There are only four creatures which are considered forces of nature. Can you guess them?" Luna eyed him with a curious gaze.

"One of them is thestral?" Harry answered in uncertain terms.

"The four creatures are Phoenix, Thunderbird, Griffin, and Thestrals. And the elements that they control or manipulate are fire for Phoenix, thunder, storm and rain for Thunderbird, light and land for Griffin, and darkness for thestrals. We don't know how they came to be or what's their origin. It is believed that these four were there since the beginning."

Harry had never heard of such a thing, he knew that Phoenix and Griffins were rare but this was taking it to another level of rarity.

"These four creatures, they don't die like the rest, they just turn into ashes, cloud, dust or smoke, respectively." Harry noticed that the expressions on her face suddenly turned grim. "If you find something made of the body parts of these four, know that the creature was alive when it was taken or extracted from them."

Harry flinched at that, those words reminded him of the dagger that Padfoot has given to him. It was a reminder or rather an encouragement to realize how dark Blacks were in the past.

"These four also have the power to disappear from one place and reappear in another, like the apparition in their own way. Phoenix's way of apparition is called torching, thunderbird's storming, griffin's flashing and thestral's shadowing." Luna was completely immersed in her own explanation and had stopped in her tracks. "We don't know how they do it, we don't know why only these four. But this just shows that the fear towards these majestic creatures is the lack of our understanding of them."

Harry could just nod in agreement. Luna had a few more words as they started back on track. "And it's not just these four creatures, we hardly know much about dementors and yet they are guarding Azkaban. All we have ever learned or discovered is either how to exploit something or how to fight something."

She took a deep breath and sighed, they were now at the edge of the forest. "We never learned to respect each other and to co-exist peacefully. It's no surprise that Death Eaters exist because that's what we have grown to learn, to exploit and to fight, one way or the other."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Hey, mate!" He croaked, calling the man in the shabby robes entering the Alley. "Wanna buy yo'r gal some gift?"

He was standing at the edge of the entrance to the Knockturn Alley, trying to make a sale of a few metallic objects and trinkets that he had extracted from the trash of an old wizarding household. Most of the items that he had extracted were either dark, jinxed or cursed. He had already sold the majority of the valuable objects to the only fair-price antique collector in Knockturn Alley, 'Borgin and Burkes'.

Not only that and mainly, he was discreetly keeping an eye on the people entering the infamous wizarding location. He was indebted to the old fool and had to do the spying for him. There wasn't another soul in his special club who would go to the lowly places he frequents. He was the eyes and ears of the group in the underbelly of the society, he did the dirty work for the birds of the birds' club so they could keep their feathers clean.

Moreover, he wasn't getting paid for it and since this summer, he didn't have the immunity that was so important in his line of work, making his life difficult. He had to now manage with these small businesses. He had already made a fortune that day, thanks to the haunted house and he had invested most of it already. He was selling the handful of trinkets to get some money for his evening spendings. It was half-past-six and his duty was coming to a close very soon for the day. He would have to be back there at half-past midnight to continue the watch, although under Mad-Eye's invisibility cloak.

He was about to leave for his evening round of some bitter fluids when he noticed a woman in a sickly pink dress and cardigan, with a red ribbon on top of her head walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. She was plump, her attire like a giant pink cake. He knew who she was, he decided to get out of there immediately but he wasn't very lucky.

"You there!" She shouted from some distance away. "Don't move."

He tried to paste the most charming and innocent smile on his face but by her looks, he could tell, she wasn't impressed. He didn't need to wait long to hear her say it in her sickeningly sweet voice. "Show me your vendor's license please."

"Good evening, Madam. It's a lovely day, would you be interested in some lovely jewelry for yourself?" He tried his luck but it wasn't working.

"Show me your vendor's license, empty your pockets or else you will be spending the next six months of your life in Azkaban." She commanded, there was nothing sweet about her words now.

"Forgive me, madam, but I'm sure we can reach a mutually agreeable deal." He requested genuinely, he would give her each and every piece of metal on him to get out of this situation. He swiftly emptied his pockets by pulling out all the remaining pieces of jewelry, he extended his hands towards her for her examination.

She looked over her shoulder and scanned her surroundings before looking at the stuff on display. One particular piece of golden jewelry caught her eye. It was a locket with a serpentine 'S', ornately inlaid with emeralds. "Where did you get this, thief?"

"It's a special one, madam, consider it as a gift." He tried to take a step back in an attempt to widen the distance. He had half a mind to run.

"From where did you steal it?" Umbridge drew her wand from inside her cardigan. It was the smallest wand that he had ever seen, but he wasn't thinking about the length, he was worried about the spell that was going to hit him in the face in a few seconds unless he did something.

He fell on his knees, in a begging gesture. "Forgive me, madam, you can keep everything, just let me go. Please be merciful, I have a family to look after."

Surprisingly, the begging and faux tears worked. She withdrew her wand, stuffed it back in her cardigan and turned to leave, the heavy golden locket in her hand. "Leave. And if I ever saw you again anywhere in Diagon Alley, you will be celebrating at least a couple of Christmases with dementors."

He didn't waste any more time, he stood up from his kneeling position and ran towards the apparition point. He just shouted his gratitude as he was leaving. "Thank you for your kindness, Madam Umbridge."

A couple of seconds later, Mundungus Fletcher was gone with a crack.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

Hermione was sitting in the library, focused on the book of Arithmancy. She was so deep in her little world that she didn't hear the footsteps of the intruder. She was startled and dropped her book on the floor as the intruder nudged her shoulder. She had enough presence of mind not to shout in the library. "Ron! Merlin's pants, you scared me."

"Good evening, Hermione." Ron said in a sweet tone, very uncharacteristic of him. "You busy?"

"I was." She huffed and picked up the fallen book. "What brought you here?"

Ron leaned closer to whisper so not to be glared at again by Madam Pince. "I need to talk to you."

Hermione was about to protest but there was something in the way Ron was acting that made her consider his request. She gestured him to lead on. They exited the library and stood next to a suit of armor in the passageway. "Tell me, what do you need to talk to me about?"

"You." Ron replied flatly, his eyes held a sincerity. "What's wrong with you?"

'That was mean', Hermione thought. "There is nothing wrong with me. Better, I should ask that question to you, Ronald."

"Ha ha ha, I am not joking, Hermione. I'm trying talk about something important with you here." Ron raised his hands defensively to pacify her. "Why are you giving Harry the silent treatment?"

Hermione was taken aback, she hasn't spoken to Harry properly since Saturday afternoon and it was Monday evening already. "You don't need to worry about it, Ron. It's none of your business, it's between me and him."

"Hermione, it might have slipped out of your overworking mind but everything and anything that happens with either of you is my business." Ron replied sharply, he was trying to keep his voice low. "Go and talk to the guy, he is worried enough already with everything going on. He doesn't need you to act this way right now."

"I will talk to him when the time is appropriate." Hermione replied firmly, her temper was rising. She wanted to get back to her book before she said something harsh to Ron. "So, if you don't mind, I will get back to my book."

"Hold your horses, Hermione." Ron gripped her shoulder as she was turning, his grip was firm but not too much to be aggressive. "Why aren't you talking to him? I need a clear answer."

"You won't understand, Ron. So just drop it, ok?" Hermione didn't want to answer anything, least of all to Ron.

"I get that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when comes to studies but I am smart enough to understand what this is about." Ron was also getting closer to his threshold of irritation. "Spit it out, Hermione."

She took a deep breath before rubbing her eyes, she didn't want to share that thought with anyone but she knew that she needed to. "I don't think what Harry is doing is right and I don't think we should do it."

Ron was taken aback by that response, he thought it was something related to their relationship but boy he wasn't expecting that. "And why do you think that?"

She looked around before dragging Ron by his elbow to the corner of the corridor and behind a pillar for some privacy. "I believe Harry's not thinking straight, I don't want him to do something that he would regret in future."

"So why haven't you told him this yet?" Ron asked.

"Because…" Hermione sighed, it was difficult for her. "Because I don't think he would listen to me this time and moreover, I don't know how to tell him this without offending him."

Ron chuckled at that, he just shook his head. "Are you kidding me, Hermione? You are the only person he would listen to. Besides, since when do you need to find a way to talk to your boyfriend and your best friend?"

Hermione had the decency to look sheepish. "You are not getting it, Ron."

"Hermione, you have put your trust in him when no one else did, not even me." He gripped Hermione's shoulders as if he was lecturing a child. "Trust him some more and just go and talk to him. Nothing good is going to come out of this silent distance."

Hermione just nodded, she noticed the maturity in his eyes, she never would have thought that Ron could be this mature and insightful. He was quite taller than her and the way he was looking at her made her feel even smaller. "Since when did you become so wise?"

"Since you two started to behave like teenagers." Ron replied with a grin.

"We are teenagers, Ron." Hermione poked him in the ribs. "Or have you forgotten?"

"We are teenagers alright but you two aren't in the normal category." Ron poked her in the shoulder in response. "So stop behaving like normal generic teenager couples. I don't want any more drama before the Quidditch tryouts on Saturday. I need Harry focussed so he can help me train before the tryouts."

"How selfish!" Hermione mock glared.

"Pressure to maintain the family tradition, Granger. Don't want to be the only Weasley male in four generations not to be on the Quidditch team." Ron winked as he turned to leave.

"But Weasleys haven't had a girl in six generations before Ginny." Hermione voiced her doubt, she had heard that trivia from Mrs. Weasley. "That's quite sexist of you, Ron."

"Ok, don't want to be the only Weasley in four generations not to be on the Quidditch team. Sounds perfect?" Ron said as he reached the turn that would take him towards the common room.

"Ha! You are so dumb sometimes, Ron." Hermione jested. "You forgot Percy."

"Nah, that airhead doesn't count as Weasley, Hermione." He took the turn and disappeared from the view.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Hear, Hear!" The Marshal of the Wizengamot crowed from the back of the hall, drawing everyone's attention, muting the ongoing discussions. "All rise! Honorable Chief Warlock of Wizengamot."

The assembly rose to their feet in unison as Chief Warlock Ogden entered the courtroom. He had an air of confidence about him that made people respect him, sometimes begrudgingly. He resumed his seat in the center of the assembly and gestured the members to do the same. He struck the gavel on the sound block with some excessive force. "The house is in session."

Every eye in the house was now on Ogden as he scanned the room of any indisciplined movement or action. Finding none, he focused back on the notes in front of him. "Court Scribe will now announce the order of business in the House for the day."

Percy rose from his chair just below the seat of Chief Warlock, his back straight as a stick, his shoulders pulled back and his eyes firmly on the papers in his hand. He started in a firm and clear voice. "On the Wednesday the thirteenth, of the ninth month, in year nineteen-ninety-five, the order of the business in the house shall be…"

He paused before chalking out the to-do list. "Appointment of the Sergeant-at-arms of Wizengamot. Followed by the discussion on motion proposal by the respected member of the house, Trafford Robald Avery. That will be all."

As Percy resumed his seat, Ogden's eyes turned back to the assembled members. "Are there any more motions on the floor to be added to the business of the day?"

He waited for members to raise their hands but he wasn't expecting any. Everyone in the house was already preoccupied with the Friday Session of the Wizengamot. He scanned the room once again. "Seeing none, the house will proceed with the first business matter. If a member wishes to propose a motion to be added in the business of the day, the respected member can forward such request to the Chair in writing."

He struck the gavel once again. "The first speaker, on the matter of 'Appointment of the Sergeant-at-arms of Wizengamot', Madam Patil has the floor."

A woman in her late thirties or early forties stood up from her seat. She was wearing the traditional, plum-colored robes of Wizengamot and faced the Chair of Chief Warlock. "Thank you, Honourable Chair for the opportunity to address this august body. This indissoluble body in existence for the last four and a half century has seen many faces in its chamber and hopefully, by the end of the day, this chamber would witness another addition in its long history."

She paused, there was a mild applause. Her demeanor was stoic, no emotion visible on her face. She looked around the present members of the house before continuing her address. "Many of us were in attendance the last time this body appointed its Sergeant-at-arms. May his soul find its final destination! I would like for the new members of this house to realize that the position is of great responsibility and should be kept out of our political and ideological disagreements and differences. I hope that this house will keep this in mind when deciding on the appropriate candidate for the position. Thank you."

There was some applause as she concluded her statement, she resumed her chair, her eyes not on her colleagues from the opposite side but on Chief Warlock, waiting for the acknowledgment of her address.

"Thank you, Madam Patil." He then turned to the other side of the house. "The second speaker, on the matter of 'Appointment of the Sergeant-at-arms of Wizengamot', Lord Amycus Carrow has the floor."

"Thank you, Chief Warlock." He had his hands clasped in front of him as he bowed to the chair in respect. "As my colleague just said, the position is one of great responsibility and I agree wholeheartedly with her opinion. Though, I would like to extend the thought further. The position has the responsibility to keep this august body and its deliberations safe from any harm while it is in session. Moreover, considering the fact that the position is held unto death, we should agree, in principle at least, that the age of the candidate should be considered a prominent factor. As I'm sure my colleagues from across the floor would agree that this body desperately needs young blood and long-term certainty."

There were respectable applause and nods of agreement from almost everyone present, even from those that were in the opposite faction. "However, one must not forget that this position needs a person with absolute faith in Wizengamot. Along with that, his or her moral and ethical character should align with the morality and ethics that the House practices, professes and promotes. Thank you."

His words were thickly veiled but experience in this arena of Wizengamot and politics, in general, had made all of them very sharp with the words and their meaning. The members weren't given too much time to think through as Chief Warlock stood up after acknowledging Amycus Carrow.

"In accordance with the conventions set forth for the Wizengamot, the Chair would present the official nominee from the Ministry for the post." He glanced at the witches and wizards in attendance, delaying the proposition of the nominee. "The Ministry had deliberated over the nomination for more than a month. It had taken into consideration, not only his academic performance but also his moral character as well as his faith in the institution."

He paused to see the effect of his words and let the meaning sink in. It was his responsibility to propose the official ministerial nominee for the post. And it was then to the Wizengamot to vote over it to either accept it or reject it. If rejected, members would have the opportunity to propose candidates.

"The nominee for the position of Sergeant-at-arms of Wizengamot is Adrian Nathan Jugson." Ogden announced before sitting down. The most shocked face in the room was that of Percy Weasley. He had turned back in his seat in an attempt to look at Chief Warlock to make sure that he heard the name correctly but his view was blocked by the dais, below which he was sitting.

It was now his job to stand up and urge the members in attendance to vote in favor or against his nemesis throughout his school life. He was completely stunned and forgot what he was supposed to do. The reminder of his duties wasn't a pleasant one. "Weasley, get up and call for the vote."

"Yes… yes, sir, I apologize." He stuttered through his words before he tried to compose himself and his thoughts. "The house will now vote on the motion of candidature of Adrian Nathan Jugson for the post of Sergeant-at-arms of Wizengamot."

He took a deep breath before continuing with his job. "Those in favor of the motion, raise your wand and light your wand tips."

He didn't even need to count the lit wands to know that the motion has passed with an overwhelming majority. Usually, the posts of the officials of the Wizengamot were considered appointments and not election because usually, the house reached a consensus on the candidature of the official ministerial nominee unless it was of an extremely controversial nature.

"Those in opposition." He asked the members. The raised wands in response were less than fifteen. He noticed that even the members were surprised with their voting. "The motion passes."

"With the acceptance of the candidature of Mr. Jugson, he is hereby appointed as the Sergeant-at-arms." Ogden had stood up to announce. "He will assume the responsibilities from the next session of Wizengamot."

Percy stood up to continue with the business of the day. Mr. Avery Sr. Was given the floor to introduce his motion to the house. The tall man was seventy-five years old and yet he didn't look a day older than sixty. He had a calm voice and demeanor, his voice was significantly lower in sound but very clear in its delivery. "Thank you, Chief Warlock, for the opportunity."

He pulled out his wand and trained it towards Chief Warlock, there was a collective gasp of shock from the members in attendance and a few more wands were drawn and trained at Avery Sr. He slowly lowered it and started talking. "I apologize for startling you all but it was necessary to prove the point I'm about to make."

"The members of the house are prohibited to draw their wands while in Wizengamot, except during voting. It is so, in order to maintain civility and to safeguard the privilege to express opinions, to have an open exchange of ideas, to discuss and debate without fear." He gave a once over to the people on the opposite side of the room. "I believe it's the most appropriate time to put a blanket ban on members bringing wands to the session of Wizengamot."

There were voices of dissent, loud enough to drown his voice. Chief Warlock had to intervene to maintain order in the house. "Order! Order!"

The house quietened but it took a few moments and every dissenting face had turned from Avery Sr. to Ogden. He looked straight at the group. "This house has some dignity and the members are expected to uphold it. The house has some guidelines for the conduct of the members within the house to maintain decorum. Or at the very least not to act in contravention to either of the above two. Mr. Avery, please continue."

He gave a nod to Chief Warlock before continuing his explanation. "But, the officials of the Wizengamot must be allowed to carry their wands in order to serve the house properly. Thank you."

Avery Sr resumed his seat with a triumphant smile, he glanced at Madam Longbottom to see her response. He didn't find any outward response for his words, she was experienced enough. The next voice was that of the Chief Warlock. "The motion is tabled and the floor is open to the members. Those who wish to speak?"

Seven hands were raised and he gave the willing speakers an order in his head and conveyed it to Percy. It was now Percy's turn to call the first speaker. "Madam Umbridge will have the floor first."

Avery knew that they had played a masterstroke with the motion. Lucius had brought the request of their master to the meeting yesterday evening. They had planned well in a very short time, the arguments that many from their side were going to put would be against the motion but would surely rile up the bunch of muggle-lovers. It would be enough to make them turn in favour of the motion which would mean that the opposite side would be willing to give up the right to carry wands in Wizengamot. He sat there and watched the drama unfold the way they had expected.

Umbridge had said some very harsh words against the motion, insinuating that muggles and muggleborns were inferior due to their inability to carry or use wands. She was followed by a similar opinion from Selwyn. And that was apparently enough for the opposite side to start speaking moderately in favour of the motion.

Two hours and a lot of heated arguments later, Wizengamot agreed to appoint a committee to discuss the protocol for submitting wands and the alternative for voting. Till a consensus to prohibit carrying wands into the session of Wizengamot could be reached, members were allowed to carry wands. Every other article that could be used as a weapon was already prohibited. In the under-consideration proposal, the only officials allowed to carry wands were Chief Warlock, Court Scribe, and Sergeant-at-arms. The business of the day concluded with this.

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

"Last week, we have revised the transfiguration methods and techniques we have learned so far in a chronological manner." She said from her chair behind the desk, her eyes scanning the room for any mischief-in-making. "Today, we will talk about what you need to learn and master to ace your O.W.L.s, you might believe and think that your performance till the end of your fourth year exceeds expectations but the real challenge awaits you here."

She gave them few moments to munch her words in their heads. She moved from her seat to the centre of the class as she spoke and walked around the class once, coming back to the front of the class as she explained further. "You learned to transfigure non-living objects into other non-living objects in your first-year. In your second year, you learned to transfigure the state of an object and given some introductory knowledge of transfiguring living beings like animals and birds into non-living objects. In your third year, you were taught to transfigure living beings into various non-living objects as well as transfiguration of multiple co-existing states. Last year, you were taught to transfigure non-living objects into food items and edibles as well as vanishment of objects. From the analysis of your learning arc, what do you think the next logical step in your education of transfiguration should be?"

She was surprsied that Hermione's hand didn't shoot up the moment she asked the question but she hid her surprise pretty well, experience teaches you a lot. She surveyed the rest of the raised hands from her vantage point of the teacher's desk and pointed towards a Ravenclaw. "Yes, Mister Boot."

"To transfigure non-living into living beings, Ma'am." He answered with a confident smile.

"Very close to the answer, Mr. Boot but not perfect." She looked at him from above her glasses before turnign to the rest of class to get another answer. "Yes, Ms. Greengrass."

"The next step should be learning to transfigure any living being or non-living object into another living being." Daphne Greengrass answered curtly.

"Five points to Slytherin and two to Ravenclaw." She alotted the points and turned towards the board and words started to appear in an ornate artistic cursive writing on the board. "If you had all read the preface of your text book, you would have been able to answer this question perfectly. I had picked up a paragraph from the book verbatim."

She knew the words would sting and she needed that to make them serious about their O.W.L.s. The only thing bugging her was that Hermione looked awfully distracted. "I had expected better from you, especially you, Ms. Granger."

McGonagall had thought that this would bring Hermione out of her state of deep thinking, but it wasn't so. There were a couple of sniggers from the students when Hermione didn't react. McGonagall signaled Neville, who was sharing the desk with Hermione, to nudge her.

"Huh?" Hermione jerked back into 'consciousness' and standing up as she noticed every eye on her. She looked at her favourite professor with a mixture of fear and guilt. "Yes professor?"

That was half question and half answer, the sniggers increased to the level of chuckles, earning a glare from McGonagall. "Please repeat the answer Ms. Greengrass just gave, Ms. Granger."

Hermione looked at Daphne before bowing her head in embarassment. "My apologies professor, I don't know."

"Five points from Gryffindor. Focus, Ms. Granger and if there is some problem, please go to the infirmary and get yourself checked." McGonagall replied, some concern for her favourite student seeping into her stern exterior and words. "Sit down."

She turned to a side table on her right. A flick of her wand later, a velvet covered bird cage came floated towards the teacher's desk and came to a measured stop in the centre. She removed the velvet cover to reveal a dove inside. She opened the cage and brought out the bird, the dove standing on her outstreched fingers. "Let's begin with a demostration."

"Wands out!" She released the bird in the air and let it fly around the class, giving enough time to everyone to get hold of their wands. She aimed her wand at the bird and flicked her wand sharply. A brown scottish mountain hare landed on the head of Seamus Finnigan to the hoarse laughter of his class mates. Seamus's dangerously moving arms in attempt to get it away made it jump on Justin Finch-Fletchley sitting in the next row. His partner, Ernie MacMillan had enough presence of mind to stun the mammal.

"Five points to Hufflepuff for quick thinking and good use of a stunner by Mr. MacMillan. And two points each will be taken from Mr. Finnigan, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finch-Fletchley for not using their heads."

"Let this be a lesson to all of you, what you are learning needs not only be studied, revised and practiced but also applied properly when necessary." She had the look of disappointment on her face as she levitated the animal and transfigured it back to its original form. "I had expected the students closest to the animal would attempt to transfigure it into some object, alas it wasn't to be that way."

"Can anyone tell me, what are the fundamentals necessary to keep in mind while transfiguring objects into food items?" McGonagall asked to the class at large, looking pointedly at Hermione. Hermione was the first to raise her hand but McGonagall gave the opportunity to Padma. "Yes, Ms. Patil!"

"The transfigured object would be as close to the real one as your imagination." She continued as McGonagall nodded. "The taste, smell, texture, consistency and temperature would be only accurate if the caster could imagine them in completeness, or in other words, the physical attributes of the transfigured objects are a manifestation of the thoughts of the caster."

"Very well, Ms. Patil." She turned and went to stand behind her desk. "Five points to Ravenclaw for the near perfect answer."

"Tansfiguring an object into a living being is the third most difficult skill in transfiguration, behind conjuring a living being." McGonagall paused with a mischievous smile on her face. "Here we are not considoreing Human Transfiguration and we never would. So, what's the most difficult transfiguration skill apart from Human Transfiguration?"

Except Hermione, Anthony Goldstein was the only student willing to answer. He started his answer after McGonagall gave him a nod. "The most difficult transfiguration skill is to conjure metals with magical qualities. Cast Iron, copper, silver, gold and platinum in that order of increasing difficulty."

"And why is that?" McGonagall inquired further.

"Because these metals are high density materials and have some inherent magical property which requires extremely high amount of magic to accomplish." Anthony explained.

"Impressive, Mr. Goldstein. Ten points to Ravenclaw." McGonagall almost clapped at the perfect answer. "It's true that these metals need extremely high amount of magic to conjure. Conjuring an elephant would be easier than conjuring a platinum sculpture of a rabit. But we won't go into those details here as conjuration of these metals are not taught anywhere in the world. You can only learn it by shear will power and even after that, it would be next to impossible to spend that much magical energy without draining yourself completely. The same goes for transfiguring humans into other beings or objects, in addition to being illegal."

The room was filled with the sound of quills scratching on the parchment. Students didn't want to miss this piece of information. Hermione glanced at Harry, sitting on the desk behind her along with Ron. McGonagall gave them enough time to note down all the previous explanations before continuing with her lecture.

"There are some basic limitations to transfiguring an object into a living being." She tapped the blackboard and words started to appear. "The first and foremost limitation is, your transfiguration can never be real and it won't last very long. Depending on the magic you pour into your spell, the transfiguration would last from mere moments to a few minutes at best. The second limitations is regarding its behaviour. The transfigured creature would be able to function on simple and linear thoughts. It can't think for itself, it can only think as much as the thoughts you pour into it. Moreover, you can't make your birds to lay eggs or other transfigured beings to reproduce because that's one of the principle exceptions of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Something that doesn't have life, can't give birth to life."

-0X0-0X0-0X0-

It was after the lecture that Hermione decided to broach the subject of what was bothering her with Harry. It's already been four days since she last talked to him substantially or spent time with him alone. They had just exchanged pleasantries and very few words that were necessitated by their mutual group of frineds. Despite all these, Hermione has tried to avoid Harry as much as she could get away with until she could sort out her thoughts on her own. Ron's intervention certainly triggered a faster process.

"Harry, I need to talk to you." Hermione said directly, plain and simple, the way Harry prefered things. He just nodded and asked her to lead the way. She decided to skip the lunch in order to talk to Harry and decided to steer them towards the tree and the rock by the lake they frequented last year. No words were spoken throughout their long walk to the destination in Hermione's mind. Harry understood where she was leading them.

They reached the lake, neither looking at each other, avoiding eye-contact but glancing towards eachother when the other wasn't looking. They stood there, by the lake, for a whole of two minutes under the sun before Hermione pooled all her courage and kissed Harry, surprising him beyond his wits. They separated as the need for air became unavoidable, their faces flushed and a happy smile on their faces.

Harry was the first to speak. "I missed it."

"Prat." And he got a playful slap to his shoulder. "It's been four days and I missed it too."

"What's the matter, Hermione?" Harry was really intrigued with her behaviour since the dungeon incident. He would never agree but Hermione's silence bugged him so much more than her words would ever. He wasn't able to focus, his heart wasn't into anything. He went to fly once and that was the only thing that pacified his mind. He tried to help Ron with his keeper practice but his throws were just awful, and not because he was bad at it but because his heart wasn't in it.

"I don't know how to tell you." Hermione hesitated, her eyes downcast.

"Since when do we have a problem with talking to eachother? We tell eachother everything Hermione." Harry gestured to sit on the rock on the edge of the lake. Harry sat after her, His back towards the lake while Hermione was facing the lake.

Harry waited for her to continue but when she didn't, Harry nudged her. "Whatever it is Hermione, I promise I won't judge you."

"I know you won't." She looked at him worriedly. "I don't want you to think that I don't trust you."

Hermione took a deep breath before she started talking. "Harry, I don't think what you want to do is the right thing to do."

"What?" Harry wasn't sure that he heard her correctly. Hermione didn't say anythin regarding this when they were discussing it. And it took her four days to open up to him about it. "You could have said something in the dungeon."

"I wanted to but the time wasn't right." She was looking in the distance. "You were so determined in that moment, I didn't want to say something in that moment."

"You could have told me about it afterwards, when we were around eachother. Why would you keep a distance?" Harry realised that he didn't need to question her but just listen to her right now. "Sorry, please continue."

"Harry, it's not about you. I needed to get my thoughts in order first, before I could explain them to you." Hermione moved her hand so it rested on Harry's. Harry was looking at the castle in front of him, not seeing it. Hermione looked at him from the corner of her eyes, not wanting to make eye contact. "I don't want you to get into anymore trouble."

"We are already in trouble, Hermione." He truned to look at her, his hands cupping her face, his eyes boring deep into hers. "Hermione, I can't sit around knowing that there was something that I could have done but I am not. I can't even imagine how devastated we would be if Mr. Weasley had been sent to Azkaban knowing that there was a way to avoid that fate."

"Harry, you are already in trouble and everyone who had joined the Order is an adult and were aware about the risks from the beginning." Hermione had a steely look in her eyes. "Order would have found some way. But what we are doing would put us at even greater risk. Ministry isn't very fond of you and if this all came out, not only you but all six of us would face serious problems, including Neville, Hannah and now Susan."

"I can accept that you are responsible for yourself, I'm responsible for my actions too but how do you think Ron's parents or Neville's Granmother or Hannah's family or Susan's aunt would react about their involvement." Hermione tried to present her thoughts clearly. "The people who are being investigated will suffer a much worse fate if Wizengamot came to know about it."

"We are going to do it Hermione, regardless of the consequences, we are going to use all means necessary." Harry answered firmly, concluding their discussion on the subject matter.

"I know." Hermione had no other answer.

They had just taken their seats on the Gryffindor table when Neville discretely passed him a big envelope with the logo on the front. Harry stuffed it hurriedly into his bag so that no wandering eye would fall upon it. "When was it delivered?"

"Few minutes ago." Neville replied, pushing his empty plate away. "Haven't read it but I know it would be perfect. You should read it for your satisfaction Harry."

"I will. I just don't know if I will understand it or not." Harry replied before digging into his meal.


End file.
